Philosophy

SCOPE: This guide is designed to help you do research in Philosophy at the University of Maryland Libraries. In many instances, it will also be helpful for doing research in other libraries and in other fields. For special assistance, you may email Alan Mattlage, the UM Libraries' philosophy specialist or call him at 301-314-1320.

Table of Contents

• Finding Books and Journals (Locally owned)
• Finding Journal Articles (Indexes and Bibliographies)
• Interlibary Loan
• Guide to the Literature
• Reference Works
• Humanities Indexes and Bibliographies
• Book Reviews
• Introductions

Finding Books and Journals

Use the Libraries' Catalog to search for books and serials. Journals are also referred to as "magazines," "serials," and "periodicals." The Catalog will give you access to cataloging records for materials at the UM College Park campus and at other campuses in the University System of Maryland. Library patrons may have books delivered to College Park by placing a "hold" on the book.

There are three important ways to do research on a particular subject in the Catalog.

1. Use a "word/s anywhere" search to retrieve records that contain your search term(s) anywhere in the cataloging record. Such a search is simple to do, but will often return many records that are not relevant to your research.
2. Use a "call number" search to see all the records beginning with and following the specified call number. This is an electronic version of simply browsing the shelves. Consult the LC Classification Schedule for an outline of the Libraries' call number classification system. The main Library of Congress classifications for philosophy are:

B -- Philosophy, general. It is subdivided by period, by topics and schools of philosophy, by region or country, and by religion.

BC -- Logic

BD -- Speculative philosophy: metaphysics, epistemology, ontology, and cosmology

BH -- Aesthetics

BJ -- Ethics

3. Use a "subject" search to retrieve records in which your search term(s) appear in the subject field of the cataloging record. This is a much more powerful search technique than the "word/s anywhere" search.

Keep in mind, however, that to do an effective subject search you must know the precise terms that are used by the catalogers. An alphabetical list of these terms can be viewed by doing a "subject beginning with..." search. Alternatively, you may examine the Library of Congress Subject Headings. This is a reference book (and cataloger's tool) that lists all the currently acceptable subject headings. It is invaluable for doing effective library research. Copies are available in the Libraries.

Note that the academic disciplines in the university curriculum have their own histories and own philosophical perspectives. Therefore we find subject headings such as:

SCIENCE - PHILOSOPHY

SOCIOLOGY - PHILOSOPHY

The connections between philosophy and other fields of life and thought are indicated in several forms of subject headings. Some examples:

PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE

PHILOSOPHY AND CIVILIZATION

PSYCHOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY

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Finding Journal Articles (Indexes and Bibliographies)

Finding journal articles requires serching indexes and bibliographies. Increasingly, indexes are appearing on-line as "databases." See Electronic Resources in Philosophy for a list of electronic indexes containing citations to materials in philosophy. Usually, you will need to follow up your search in these indexes with a search in the Catalog to find out if UMCP owns a copy of the journal containing the article you want.

The primary index for the field is Philosopher's Index. This indexes books (from 1980, non-U.S. English from 1984) and journals. It does not include book reviews. However, the Libraries also have an older copy (1967-1994) in print:

The Philosopher's Index 1967-1994

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS (shelved in Humanities Alcove)

CALL NUMBER: Z7127.P5

Published by the Philosophy Documentation Center. Supplemented by the following works.

The Philosopher's Index: A Retrospective Index to U.S. Publications from 1940. 3 vols. Bowling Green, OH: Philosophy Documentation Center, Bowling Green State University, 1978.

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS (shelved in Humanities Alcove)

CALL NUMBER: Z7127.P52

The Philosopher's Index: A Retrospective Index to NON-U.S. English Language Publications from 1940. 3 vols. Bowling Green, OH: Philosophy Documentation Center, Bowling Green State University, 1980.

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS (shelved in Humanities Alcove)

CALL NUMBER: Z7127.P523

The Philosopher's Index Thesaurus. Ed. By Richard H. Lineback. 2nd ed. Bowling Green, OH: Philosophy Documentation Center, Bowling Green State University, 1992.

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS (shelved in ARS bookcase)

CALL NUMBER: Z695.1.P465P45 1992

The thesaurus gives descriptions and terms (more commonly used ones in bold), names of philosophers, and a list of periodicals indexes. Codes for Greek letters are given.

Other indexes and bibliographies for philosophy:

International Philosophical Bibliography - Repertoire Bibliographique de la Philosophie. 1948-

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS

CALL NUMBER: Z7127.R421

Quarterly bibliography published at Louvain, Belgium, under the auspices of the International Institute of Philosophy.

Bibliography of Philosophy- Bibliographie de la Philosophie. 1937- (McKeldin holdings to 1994).

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS

CALL NUMBER: Z7127.I5

Bulletin Signalitique. 519: Philosophie. 1970-1990.

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS

CALL NUMBER: Z7127.F71

See also coverage of earlier years, 1956-1969, under related call numbers: Z7127.F7, Z7127.F702, Z7127.F71.

Particular bibliographies may be found with such searches as: PHILOSOPHY - BIBLIOGRAPHY. See also the monographs in series, such as the Bibliographies and Indexes in Philosophy, which covers periods and individual authors:

World Philosophy: A Contemporary Bibliography. Edited by John R. Burr. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1993.

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS

CALL NUMBER: B801.W67 1993

Attig, John C. The Works of John Locke: A Comprehensive Bibliography from the Seventeenth Century to the Present. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1985.

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS

CALL NUMBER: B1297.A87 1985

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Interlibrary Loan

You can search libraries all over the world via WorldCat or the RLIN Bibliographic File. Patrons may obtain books and journal articles via the Interlibrary Loan system.

WORLDCAT - an electronic database which is also searchable on VICTOR and contains over 36 million records of any type of material (books, magazines, non-print media, dissertations, and masters theses, archival materials, etc.) catalogued by OCLC member libraries.

RLIN Bibliographic file is an electronic database which contains over 27 million records of books, periodicals, recordings, scores, archival collections, and other kinds of materials held in over 100 major research institutions and archival collections in the United States. The RLIN Bib file is also searchable on VICTOR.

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Guide to the Literature

Bynagle, Hans E. Philosophy: A Guide to the Reference Literature. 2nd ed. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1997.

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS

CALL NUMBER: B72.B96 1997

This provides a good listing of the major reference sources, including bibliographies. The extensive annotations help the reader judge and select the resources. Indispensable for the serious student.

Includes a very brief section on electronic resources.

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Reference Works

Subject headings may be used to search for general of specific reference books. It is recommended that the eager student browse the philosophy call numbers in the reference stacks. Here is a select list of reference works, for beginning work and as examples.

Biographies: See the general reference works on philosophy, and also:

Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Philosophers. Ed. By Stuart Brown and others.

New York: Routledge, 1996.

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS

CALL NUMBER: B104.B5 1996

This work has indexes by nationality, categories (types of philosophy), interests, and influences on persons. Each entry has main publications and selected secondary literature.

Dictionaries are many, and some are dedicated to individual philosophers. The general subject heading is PHILOSOPHY - DICTIONARIES. Examples:

Reese, William L. Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion: Eastern and Western Thought.

Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press, 1996.

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS

CALL NUMBER: B41.R43 1996

Glock, Hans-Johann. A Wittgenstein Dictionary. Cambridge, MS: Blackwell Reference, 1996.

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS

CALL NUMBER: B3376.W563Z83 1996

One of the series, Blackwell Philosophical Dictionaries.

Directories and associations (see Bynagle for more complete list):

Directory of American Philosophers. Bowling Green, OH: Philosophy Documentation Center, 1998.

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS

CALL NUMBER: B935.D5 no. 19 1998-1999

Provides listings of academic departments, names, and also lists of societies, journals, and publishers.

International Directory of Philosophy and Philosophers. Bowling Green, OH: Philosophy Documentation Center, 1997.

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS

CALL NUMBER: 935.I5 1997/98

Provides information by country on universities, centers, societies, journals, publishers, and names and addresses of philosophers.

The American Philosophical Association's 1995 Guide to Graduate Programs in Philosophy. Newark, DE: University of Delaware, American Philosophical Association, 1995.

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS

CALL NUMBER: B52.3.U6A44 1995

American Philosophical Association

http://www.udel.edu/apa

A good general site for philosophy as well as association information.

Society of Christian Philosophers

http://www.siu.edu/departments/cola/philos/SCP/index.html

American Association of Philosophy Teachers

http://www.mnsfld.edu/depts/philosop/aapt.html

Encyclopedias:

Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Studies of Selected Pivotal Ideas. Ed. By Philip P. Wiener. 5 vols. New York: Scribner, 1973.

LOCATIONS: MCKREF STACKS, MCK FOLIO

CALL NUMBER: CB5.D52

The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed. By Paul Edwards. 8 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1967.

LOCATIONS: MCKREF STACKS

CALL NUMBER: B41.E5

See also the 1996 supplement.

Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 10 vols. New York: Routledge, 1998.

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS

CALL NUMBER: B51.R68 1998

The most current encyclopedia, use with the 1967 work.

MIT Encyclopedia of Cognitive Sciences

http://mitpress.mit.edu/MITECS

Register to use this Web-based work, under development.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

http://plato.stanford.edu

A cooperative project, edited by Edward N. Zalto, with articles and updates to be added regularly.

Intended to be more up to date than the 1998 general encyclopedia in coming years.

Publishers with websites (as examples):

Blackwell Publishers Philosophy Resource Center

http://www.blackwellpublishers.co.uk/philos

See especially the ratings of graduate philosophy departments by Brian Leiter of the University of Texas.

Philosophy Documentation Center

http://www.bgsu.edu/pdc

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Humanities Indexes and Bibliographies

Other indexes and bibliographies in the humanities with relevant resources:

L'Annee Philologique: Bibliographie Critique et Analytique de l'Antiquite Greco-Latine. annual. 1924-

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS (Humanities Alcove)

CALL NUMBER: Z7016.M35 a

The Database of Classical Bibliography: DCB [computer file]. annual. 1995-

LOCATION: CPLIBS EIC

CALL NUMBER: PA1.D32 COMPUTER FILE

The computer file version of L'Annee Philologique, with additional sources, always several years behind the print version. Volume 2 (1997) covers volumes 45-60 (1974-1989), having added vols. 45-46 and 59-60 from the previous edition. A manual is available in the ARS bookcase in McKeldin Reference.

Gnomon: Kritische Zeitschrift fur die gesamte klassische Altertumswissenschaft. 1925-

LOCATION: MCK STACKS \; CURRENT ISSUES IN MCK CURPER

CALL NUMBER: PA3.G6

This periodical provides current book reviews and current bibliographies (in the sections "Bibliographische Beilage") in classics, so it is used to provide more up-to-date listings than in L'Annee Philologique. See next entry for online version.

Gnomon Online.

http://gnomon.ku-eichstaett.de

The full Gnomon database is a CD-ROM, but this site provides access to recent listings, and selected listings back to 1990, with some instructions in English. See: "If you are in a hurry: The Gnomon Online Quick Start Guide." Located on the Web site of the Katholische Universitaet Eichstaett.

General indexes in the humanities will include works in philosophy and related fields:

Humanities Abstracts.

LOCATIONS: Print version entitled Humanities Index, MCKREF STACKS AI3.R493 (shelved in Humanities Alcove) 1974- . Electronic versions: NETWRK VICTOR 2/84- . and NETWRK WWW 2/84- .

Indexes approximately 400 publications that make up the core literature in the field of the humanities, covering such topics as archaeology, area studies, art, classics, film, folklore, journalism, linguistics, music, performing arts, philosophy, religion, history and literature. Indexes book reviews published in these periodicals.

Arts and Humanities Search.

LOCATIONS: Print version: entitled Arts and Humanities Citation Index, MCKREF STACKS NX1.A7 (shelved in Humanities Alcove) 1977- . Electronic versions: NETWRK VICTOR 1980- , and NETWRK WWW 1980- .

Indexes articles from over 1,100 of the world's leading arts and humanities journals, plus relevant articles from an additional 5,000 social science and science journals. Indexes book reviews.

American Humanities Index. 1975-

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS (shelved in Humanities Alcove)

CALL NUMBER: AI3.A4

An index to approximately 400 "creative, critical, and scholarly journals in the arts and humanities. Most of the journals included are indexes exclusively by this source."

British Humanities Index. 1962-

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS (shelved in Humanities Alcove)

CALL NUMBER: AI3.B7

Indexes and abstracts articles in journals and newspapers published in Great Britain from the following disciplines: arts, music, philosophy, religion, literature, economics, political science, history, and society.

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Book Reviews

Book reviews are found in many philosophy journals. The following sources help locate them:

Philosophical Books. 1960-

LOCATION: MCK CURPER, MCK STACKS

CALL NUMBER: B1.P5

This periodical gives current book reviews and what they call "critical notices."

The International Philosophical Bibliography gives a list of book reviews in the autumn issue.

The Philosopher's Index indexes book reviews in the print version, but not in the electronic version.

Book Review Index. 1965-

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS (shelved in General Reference and Biography Alcove)

CALL NUMBER: Z1035.A1B4

Indexes book reviews appearing in over 600 general and scholarly periodicals.

Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Scholarly Journals. 1886-1974

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS (shelved in General Reference and Biography Alcove)

CALL NUMBER: Z1035.A1C6

Indexes book reviews appearing in 459 older scholarly journals in History, Political Science, and Sociology.

Index to Book Reviews in the Humanities. 1960-1990

LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS

CALL NUMBER: Z1035.A1I63

Indexes book reviews appearing in 440 scholarly journals in the following areas: literature, language, philosophy, the arts, travel biography, dance and folklore.

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Introductions

Introductions to the history of philosophy. The general subject heading is PHILOSOPHY - HISTORY. This may retrieve to many items. More specific periods or philosophical schools and movements may prove to be a better method for searching for material in the History of Philosophy.

Solomon, Robert C., and Kathleen M. Higgins. A Passion for Wisdom: A Very Brief History of Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

LOCATION: MCK STACKS

CALL NUMBER: B72.S655 1997

Very brief means less than 150 pages, including references.

Scruton, Roger. A Short History of Modern Philosophy: From Descartes to Wittgenstein. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 1995.

LOCATION: MCK STACKS

CALL NUMBER: B791.S29 1995

Scruton has a number of introductory works, with his own interpretations, of course.

Many histories of philosophy focus primarily on the Western philosophical tradition, but some books attempt a more comprehensive overview. A good subject heading is PHILOSOPHY, COMPARATIVE.

Scharfstein, Ben-Ami. A Comparative History of World Philosophy. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998.

LOCATION: MCK STACKS

CALL NUMBER: B799.S37 1998

One-volume surveys of philosophy and intellectual history:

The Blackwell Companion to Philosophy. Edited by Nicholas Bunnin and E.P. Tsui-James. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell reference, 1996.

LOCATION: MCK STACKS

CALL NUMBER: B21.B56 1996

This work has been critiqued for its major emphasis on analytical philosophy, with only token attention to other methods. Not authoritative, but it provides an interesting survey.

Tarnard, Richard. The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas That Have Shaped Our World View. New York: Harmony Books, 1991.

LOCATION: MCK STACKS

CALL NUMBER: B72.T27 1991

Many have found this personal interpretation quite useful as a synthesis and for raising current issues.

Is philosophy for everyone or only for professional philosophers? Or for whom? The following works are examples of approaches to this question.

Adler, Mortimer J. The Four Dimensions of Philosophy: Metaphysical, Moral, Objective, Categorical. New York: Macmillan, 1993.

LOCATION: MCK STACKS

CALL NUMBER: B35.A29 1993

Adler and his many books and projects well represent the movement to bring philosophical thought to everyone. See the prologue, in which he makes his case that "philosophy is everybody's business."

Shorris, Earl. New American Blues: A Journey through Poverty to Democracy. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997.

LOCATION: MCK STACKS

CALL NUMBER: HV4045.S46 1997

Appealing to the tradition of Socrates and the dialogues of democratic politics, Shorris calls for the study of the humanities by the poor to bring them into active citizenship, and describes the powerful results of reading Plato and discussing philosophy with the urban poor: "It was the beginning of a love affair, the first oment of their infatuation with Socrates." (p369)

Wilson, Daniel J. Science, Community, and the Transformation of American Philosophy, 1860-1930. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990.

LOCATION: MCK STACKS

CALL NUMBER: b895.W55 1990

See sections on the professionalization of philosophy.

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