Last revised: August 2007
Philosophy
Scope: This guide is designed to help you do research in all feilds of philosophy. It has been written to support research at the University of Maryland, but in many instances it will also be helpful for doing research at other libraries. For special assistance, you may email Alan Mattlage, the UM Libraries' Liaison to the the UM Philosophy Department, or call him at 301-314-1320.
Table of Contents
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.
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- SCIENCE - PHILOSOPHY
- SOCIOLOGY - PHILOSOPHY
- PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE
- PHILOSOPHY AND CIVILIZATION
- PSYCHOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY
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 Authority Files. This is a cataloger's tool that lists all the currently acceptable subject headings, along with "official" names and titles of authors and works. A print listing of Library of Congress subject terms 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:
The connections between philosophy and other fields of life and thought are indicated in several forms of subject headings. Some examples:
Databases
Academic Search Premier UM only
This is large multidisciplinary database containing a great deal of full-text articles. It is good for general research in nearly every academic discipline.Arts and Humanities Search UM only
Contains information about articles in all fields of the Arts and Humanities, permitting searches for articles that site a specified article or author.ATLA Religion Index UM only
Provides abstracts and indexing for articles, essays, and book reviews in over 1550 journals and multi-author works dealing with religious and theological scholarship.Digital Dissertations UM only
Citations, abstracts, and full text (UM dissertations 1997 - present) for more than 1.6 million U.S. and international masters theses and doctoral dissertations.Ingenta ConnectComplete UM only
This is a multidisciplinary database including millions of citations for scholarly materials in tens of thousands of journals.Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe UM only
A full-text online service offering access to hundreds of databases. Materials online include court decisions on the federal and state level, federal and state statutory law, administrative rules, regulations and court decisions, American Law Reports, law reviews, national and regional newspapers, business and finance magazines, newsletters and wire services, and more.LLBA: Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts UM only
Some categories include interpersonal behavior and communication, sociolinguistics, and nonverbal communication.Philosopher's Index UM only
This is the premier database for research in the field of Philosophy.Web of Science UM only
This is the gateway to two large databases: Science Citation Index Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index. Each provides citations only, but they permits searches for articles citing a specified article or author. They can be search separately or simultaneously.
Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
- Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, Robert Audi, ed., Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS
CALL NUMBER: B41.C35 1999
While titled a “dictionary,” this work compares favorably to many self-described encyclopedias with respect to the number and length of entries – over 4,400 entries, some are more than 6,000 words in length. The articles were reviewed and selected by an extremely distinguished editorial board. Includes “see” and “see also” cross-references, an appendix of special symbols and logical notation, and an index of selected names. - Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy, Brian Carr and Indira Mahalingam, eds., London: Routledge, 1997.
LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS
CALL NUMBER: B121.C66 1997
This volume is less an encyclopedia and more a compendium of 48 medium to long articles introducing important aspects of Persian, Indian, Buddhist, Chinese, Japanese, and Islamic Philosophy. The authors are highly distinguished and well published in their fields. Each article includes a bibliography for further reading and most contain text-specific bibliographic notes. The work as a whole contains a glossary and a general index. - Companion to Continental Philosophy, Simon Critchley and William R. Schroeder, eds., Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 1998.
LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS
CALL NUMBER: B803.C66 1998
This volume presents 56 articles, each covering a single philosopher in the Continental tradition (beginning with Kant.) Many of its authors work at colleges and universities outside of the United States and Great Britain. The typical article is 10-12 pages long, and is followed by a “Writings,” by the subject of the article, “References,” and/or a bibliography of “Further reading.” There is an extensive general index. - Concise Encyclopedia of Western Philosophy and Philosophers, J.O. Urmson and Jonathan Ree, eds., London: Unwin Hyman Ltd., 1989.
LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS
CALL NUMBER: B41.C66 1989
Originally published in 1960, updated for the 1989 edition, this work is limited mainly to covering philosophy from an Anglo-American perspective and is rather like a small, single volume version of The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Paul Edwards, ed. The articles are limited to central figures, movement, and ideas in European philosophy. The articles vary widely in length, contain no notes or bibliographies. However, the authors are among the most respected of the Anglo-American tradition. Contains “see” cross-references, with main entries marked in bold through out the text. - Concise Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, London: Routledge, 2000.
LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS
CALL NUMBER: B51.C58 2000
This is a condensed version of the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. It contains more than 2,000 entries which are typically only a few hundred words transcribed from the initial paragraphs of the entries in the complete Routledge encyclopedia. The contributors include the many of the world’s leading philosophers. Entries include “see” and “see also” cross-references and usually one or two citations for further reading. - Dictionary of Eighteenth-Century British Philosophers, John W. Yolton, John Valdimir Price, John Stephens, eds., Bristol: Thoemmes Press, 1999.
LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS
CALL NUMBER: B1301.D527 1999
This two volume set of 1,034 pages contains over 600 entries on 18th century British philosophers. "Philosophers" is actually a bit too narrow as a description for the figures it covers. It encompasses historians, scientists, theologians, literary figures, and more. The work contains entries on numerous minor figures which extends its coverage well beyond the standard dictionary/encyclopedias. It includes bibliographies of the work of the entries' subjects, secondary literature, and "further reading." - Dictionary of Seventeenth-Century British Philosophers, Andrew Pyle, ed., Bristol: Thoemmes Press, 2000.
LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS
CALL NUMBER: B1131.D538 2000
This two volume set of 953 pages contains over 400 entries on 17th century British philosophers. "Philosophers" is actually a bit too narrow as a description for the figures it covers. It encompasses historians, scientists, theologians, literary figures, and more. The work contains entries on numerous minor figures which make this work go well beyond the standard dictionary/encyclopedias and includes bibliographies of the work of the entries' subjects, secondary literature, and "further reading." - Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Studies of Selected Pivotal Ideas, Philip P. Wiener, ed., N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1973.
LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS
CALL NUMBER: CB5.D52
This five volume set contains 311 signed articles on important ideas which have had multidisciplinary impacts. Each article is followed by a bibliography and several “See also” references, permitting the reader to follow the connection of ideas chronologically, analytically, and across disciplines. It provides both a standard table of contents and an analytical table of contents which divides the entries into seven conceptual categories. Volume five is an index. - Edinburgh Encyclopedia of Continental Philosophy, Simon Glendinning, ed., Edinburgh: Edinburgh Press, 1999.
LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS
CALL NUMBER: B804.E43 1999
This single volume work contains 57 articles, usually by different authors, covering eight important topics or movements within Continental philosophy. The authors generally work at British and American colleges and Universities. Each of the eight sections begins with an introductory article and is then composed of articles on specific philosophers. Articles are roughly 10-15 double columned pages in length, contain a bibliography of “Writings” by the subject of the article and a list of “References and further reading.” There are Subject and Name indexes. - Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics, Ruth Chadwick, ed., San Diego: Academic Press, 1998.
LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS
CALL NUMBER: BJ63.E44 1998
Composed of four volumes containing 281 signed article-length entries on a wide variety of practical issues in ethics, but also articles on central theoretical topics. Each article is prefaced with a glossary and a statement defining the topic and is followed by “see” cross-references and a bibliography which varies in length. The index contains 5,000 entries. - Encyclopedia of Ethics, Lawrence C. Becker and Charlotte Becker, eds., NY: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1992.
LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS
CALL NUMBER: BJ63.E45 1992
Composed of two volumes containing 435 signed articles, very often by the world’s leading anglophone philosophers. Most articles are between 500 to 1,000 words in length, covering topics in metaethics, moral theory, moral problems, and social, political, and legal philosophy. Bibliographies follow each article. There is a general index and an index of authors cited in the bibliographies. There are “see” cross-references. - Encyclopedia of Ethics, Susan Neiburg Terkel and R. Shannon Duval, eds., NY: Facts on File, 1999.
LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS
CALL NUMBER: BJ63.E46 1999
Contains over 450 brief, unsigned articles on morally significant concepts, with “see” and “see also” cross-references and a single bibliography and index. - Encyclopedia of Phenomenology, Lester Embree et al., eds., Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic, 1997.
LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS
CALL NUMBER: B829.5.E53 1997
This single volume presents 166 signed articles in 764 pages, averaging 3,000 words and covering the four broad tendencies within the phenomenological movement, national traditions, phenomenological tendencies within non-philosophical disciplines, major topics in phenomenology, leading phenomenologists, and other related topics. Each article includes a bibliography “For Further Study.” The articles are written for “professional colleagues of other orientations,” graduate students, and advanced undergraduates. There is a general index. - Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Paul Edwards, ed., NY: Macmillian, 1967.
LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS
CALL NUMBER: B41.E5
This is the grand old encyclopedia of Anglo-American academic philosophy. Published in four and eight volumes (with a ninth cumulative index volume.) While it is now clearly dated, it remains a crucial introductory source for understanding philosophy as it was practiced by Anglo-American academic philosophers throughout most of the twentieth century. Comparing its entries with those of the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (1998) is instructive. - Encyclopedia of Postmodernism, Victor E. Taylor and Charles E. Winquist, eds., London: Routledge, 2001.
LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS
CALL NUMBER: B831.2.E63 2001
This 466 page single volume contains approximately 340 signed entries covering academic disciplines, critical terms, and important writers relating to postmodernism. Most entries include a short list of “References” and “Further Reading.” They occasionally include “see also” references. The work self-consciously avoids a simple, normative definition of the field and instead attempts to convey the variety conflicting ideas within and approaches to the field. The great majority of contributors work at US colleges and universities. - Encyclopedia of Values and Ethics, by Joseph P. Hester, Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 1996.
LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS
CALL NUMBER: BJ63.H47 1996
An impressive work for a single author, contains approximately 300 entries, averaging about 1 page in length, sources for the contents are identified after each entry. There are “see” cross-references, a glossary, a general bibliography, and an index. Entries are sometimes idiosyncratic. - Ethics, John K. Roth, ed., Pasadena, Calif.: Salem Press, Inc., 1994 (Ready Reference).
LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS
CALL NUMBER: BJ63.E54 1994 v. 1-3
This three volume set (republished as a single volume in 1995 under the title International Encyclopedia of Ethics) contains 819 signed articles of 250 to 3,000 words in length. Articles on applied ethics make up a significant portion of the content along with articles on religious and philosophical ethic in non-western traditions. Longer articles include short bibliographies. Contains “see” and “see also” cross-references. Volume three contains a list of organizations, societies, and institutes associated with the field of ethics, a chronology of events, a general bibliography, and a general index. Each volume contains both an alphabetized and a categorized list of entries. - Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Edward Craig, ed., London: Routledge, 1998.
LOCATION: MCKREF STACKS
CALL NUMBER: B51.R68 1998
The encyclopedia is composed of nine volumes plus a tenth index volume. It contains 2,054 entries of 500-19,000 words in length and attempts broad and comprehensive coverage of the field, self-consciously beginning with the Anglo-American academic mainstream, but embracing a much wider domain than its predecessor, The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Paul Edwards, ed., including 400 entries on non-European philosophy. The contributors include the many of the world’s leading philosophers. Entries include “see” and “see also” cross-references and bibliographies for further reading.
