Selected Information Resources for Philosophy

Print Resources in the WCC Library

WCC REF B21 M3 1961a
Masterpieces of World Philosophy in Summary Form. Edited by Frank N.
Magill, with Ian P. McGreal, Associate Editor. New York : Harper & Row,
Publishers, c1961.

These 200 essays summarize and explain the significance of the writings of 139 masters of Eastern and Western thought (from the early Greeks to the present). Useful reference information is provided on authors, and a glossary of philosophical terms is at the front of the book.

WCC REF B29 W68 1982
World Philosophy: Essay-Reviews of 225 Major Works. Edited by Frank N. Magill, with Ian P. McGreal, Associate Editor. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Salem Press, 1982, c1961.

This 5 volume set continues the work started in Masterpieces of World Philosophy in Summary Form, with many added basic philosophy. It draws connections between works of literature and the philosophical works they emerged from. Articles are in chronological order.

WCC REF B41 .C35 1999
The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy. Edited by Robert Audi. Second edition. Cambridge, United Kingdom : Cambridge University Press, 1999, c1995.

This book fairly new, accurate, and easy to use. It provides an updated examination of concepts and thinkers, including contemporary philosophers and newer areas of study, such as philosophy of the mind and applied ethics. It also contains many entries on non-Western and non-European philosophy.

WCC REF B41 E5
The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by Paul Edwards. New York : The Macmillan Company & The Free Press, c1967.

This 9-volume encyclopedia attempts to cover the "whole of philosophy," as well as the relation between philosophy and other disciplines. It deals with the many revolutionary developments in the field to emerge in the 20th century (up to its publication in 1967).

WCC REF B41 .K48 1993
Key Ideas in Human Thought. Edited by Kenneth McLeish. New York : Facts
on File, c1993.

This is another recent text, and it was written for the "nonspecialist." It explains "2,500 important terms and concepts in all areas of intellectual inquiry" throughout the ages. It attempts to explain why certain ideas have become so important. Suggested reading lists and heavy cross-referencing are helpful.

WCC REF B41 U7
The Concise Encyclopedia of Western Philosophy and Philosophers. Edited by J.O. Urmson. New York : Hawthorn Books, Inc., c1960.

As the title indicates, the focus here is on Western philosophers, their works and ideas. There are illustrations or photographs of several philosophers.

WCC REF B41 L32 1976
Lacey, A. R. A Dictionary of Philosophy. London : Routledge, c1976.

This is a "pocket encyclopaedia of philosophy." It is intended for students who are new to the study of philosophy. The author takes many common terms and tries to explain what they mean to the philosopher.

WCC REF B41 R43 1980
Reese, William L. Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion: Eastern and
Western Thought. New Jersey : Humanities Press, c1980.

This is an encyclopedic dictionary. Although major philosophers and religious leaders of all eras and locations are included, it isn't exhaustive.

WCC REF B51 .R68 1998
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by Edward Craig. London :
Routledge, c1998.

This recent encyclopedia (10 volumes) offers an update to the Encyclopedia of Philosophy (published in 1967) mentioned above. It deals with philosophy as it has been traditionally taught in American academia, but it goes beyond that by including coverage of world philosophy as well. This means that Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian and Tibetan, Jewish, Arabic and Islamic, Russian, Latin American and African philosophies are included. References are provided for further reading.

WCC REF B52 T5 1983
Tice, Terrence N. and Thomas P. Slavens. Research Guide to Philosophy.
Chicago : American Library Association, c1983.

This book explains major periods, developments, and areas of philosophy with the aim of showing the relationship between philosophy and the humanities. The author makes the point that full works of philosophy can rarely be summarized. Consequently, he makes no attempt to be comprehensive in this one book.

WCC REF B5010 .L32 1999
Leaman, Oliver. Key Concepts in Eastern Philosophy. London : Routledge, c1999.

This text explains basic ideas of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Zoroastrianism, etc. The author discusses the differences between philosophy and religion throughout history. He also provides an interesting appraisal of the differences between Eastern and Western philosophies in the introduction.

WCC TOPICS CARREL
Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego : Greenhaven Press.

This series presents various philosophical viewpoints and ethical arguments surrounding many contemporary issues. Look for such titles as: Constructing a Life Philosophy, Genetic Engineering, Abortion, Sexual Values, Animal Rights and Free Speech.

WCC REF BJ64 .E45 1992
Encyclopedia of Ethics. Lawrence C. Becker, Editor, and Charlotte B. Becker, Associate Editor. New York : Garland Publishing, Inc., c1992.

This two volume set has articles on "meta-ethics, ethical theory, perennial moral problems, and political, social and legal theory." Most articles have bibliographies.

WCC REF BJ63 .E54 1994
Ethics. Edited by John K. Roth. Pasadena, CA : Salem Press, Inc., c1994.

This three volume set deals with contemporary issues such as "animal rights, bioethics, environmental ethics, political and judicial ethics, the ethics of science and computing, civil and human rights, military ethics, ethics of sex and gender, and the ethics of the arts and censorship." Discussion isn't limited to Western/Judeo-Christian philosophies, but explore the ethics of other cultures and religions, as well.

WCC REF BL31 E43
Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. Edited by James Hastings. New York :
Charles Scribner's Sons, [n.d.]

This is a very in-depth (12 volumes) encyclopedia, published mid-20th century. It was likely considered to be comprehensive during the period in which it was published, but the focus is not as broad as one may find in more recent works.

WCC REF C85 D52
Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Studies of Selected Pivotal Ideas. Edited by Philip P. Wiener. New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, c1968, 1973.

This three volume set mostly addresses concepts of Western philosophy. There are, however, cross-cultural analyses, as well as an examination of the evolution of ideas of philosophers throughout time.

WCC B121 C664 1997
A Companion to World Philosophies. Edited by Eliot Deutsch and Ron Bontekoe. Malden, MA : Blackwell Publishers Ltd., c1997.

This recent book covers the philosophies of cultures many cultures.

WCC AC1 G7
Great Books of the Western World. Robert Maynard Hutchins, Editor in Chief.
Chicago : Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Inc., 1952.

What the great Western philosophers had to say, in their own words. Check the inside front cover to find out which volume contains the texts written by many famous philosophers.

WCC REF

Encyclopedia of Bioethics. Revised edition. Warren Thomas Reich, editor in chief. New York : Simon& Schuster Macmillan, 1995.

This 5 volume set focuses on ethics as they apply to health care and life sciences. Includes information on historical and contemporary perspectives, as well as perspectives by world religions.

Online Resources

Compiled and annotated by Tara Severns

Social Science Research Network http://www.ssrn.com

Not specifically philosophy-related, but contains abstracts and some full-text scholarly articles on many controversial topics.

Hippias http://hippias.evansville.edu/

A philosophy-only Internet search engine.

Ethics Update http://ethics.acusd.edu/index.html

Online and print resources on a variety of ethics topics

Applied Ethics Resources on WWW http://www.ethics.ubc.ca/resources/

Links to information regarding various ethicals issues.

Epistemelinks http://www.epistemelinks.com/

Collection of online resources in philosophy.

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy http://plato.stanford.edu/contents.html

Philosophy in Cyberspace http://www-personal.monash.edu.au/~dey/phil/

Well organized links to online resources, including an interface with Hippias.