One-volume General Reference Works || Multi-Volume General Reference Works
Specialized Dictionaries, Encyclopedias and Handbooks || Research Guides || Indexes
Bibliographies || Specialized Bibliographies || Directories and Biographical Sources || Internet Resources
 

If you don't know where to start, these can be a good place to begin.  Two of the best such works are:

Audi, Robert, ed..  The Cambridge dictionary of philosophy.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
    Ref.  B 41 .C35 1995

Honderich, Ted, ed.  The Oxford companion to philosophy.  London: Oxford University Press, 1995.
    Ref. B 51 .O94 1995

Other one-volume general reference works in our collection include:

Bales, Eugene F.  A Ready Reference to Philosophy East and West. Lanham, MD:  University Press of America, 1987.
     Ref. B 72 .B34 1987

Brugger, Walter and Kenneth Baker.  Philosophical Dictionary.  Spokane, WA:  Gonzaga University Press, 1972.
     Ref. B 43 .B713

Burr, John R., ed. Handbook of World Philosophy: Contemporary Developments since 1945.  Westport, CT:  Greenwood Press, 1980.
     Ref. B 804 .A1 H36

Grooten, J., and G. Jo Steenbergen.  New Encyclopedia of Philosophy.  New York:  Philosophical Library, 1972.
     Ref. B 48 .D8 N4313 1972

Macrone, Michael.  Eureka! What Archimedes really meant and 80 other key ideas explained.  New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
     Ref. B 68 .M29 1994

Mautner, Thomas.  A Dictionary of Philosophy.  Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1996.
     Ref. B 41 .M38 1996

Reese, William L.  Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion:  Eastern and Western Thought. New and enlarged edition. Atlantic Highlands, N.J.:  Humanities Press, 1996.
     Ref. B 41 .R43 1996

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Craig, Edward, general editor.  Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. London: Routledge, 1998.  10 vols.
     Ref.  B 51 .R68 1998

Edwards, Paul, editor-in-chief.  Encyclopedia of Philosophy.  New York:  Macmillan, 1972. 8 vols plus supplementary vol., 1996, ed. D.M. Borchert.
     Ref. B 41 .E5 1972

Jacob, Andre, ed.  Encyclopédie philosophique universelle.  Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1989-1998. 
     Ref. B 51 .E52 1990

Lalande, Andre, ed.  Vocabulaire technique et critique de la philosophie.  17th ed.  Paris:  Presses Universitaires de France, 1992.
     Ref. B 42 .L35 1960

Magill, Frank.  World Philosophy:  Essay Reviews of 225 Major Works.  Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:  Salem Press, 1982.  5 vols.
     Ref. B 29 .W68 1982

Ritter, Joachim, et al, eds.  Historisches Worterbuch der Philosophie.  Basel; Stuttgart:  Schwabe, 1971-.  9 vols. (in progress)
     Ref. B 43 .H57 1971

Roth, John K., ed.  World Philosophers and Their Works.   Pasadena; Hackensack:  Salem Press, Inc, 2000.  3 vols.
     Ref. B104 .W67 2000

Wiener, Philip P., editor in chief.  Dictionary of the History of Ideas:  Studies of Selected Pivotal Ideas.  New York:  Scribner's, 1973-1974.  4 vols. + index
     Ref. CB 5 .D52

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These works cover particular topics or fields within philosophy.

Ayer, A. J. And Jane O'Grady.  A Dictionary of Philosophical Quotations.  Oxford: Blackwell, 1994.
     Ref. B 21 .D54 1994

Becker, Lawrence C., ed.  Encyclopedia of Ethics.  New York; London:  Garland Publishing, Inc., 1992.  2 vols.
     Ref. BJ 63 .E45 1992

Burkhardt, Hans, and Barry Smith.  Handbook of Metaphysics and Ontology.  Munich:  Philosophia Verlag, 1991. 2 vols. 
     Ref. BD 111 .H225 1991

Brian and Indira Mahalingam, eds. Companion encyclopedia of Asian philosophy.   London: Routledge, 1997.
     Ref. B 121 .C66 1997

Dancy, Jonathan and Ernest Sosa.  A Companion to epistemology.  Oxford: Blackwell, 1993.
     Ref.  BD 161 .C637

Fischer-Schreiber, Ingrid et al.  Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion.  Boston:  Shambhala, 1989.
    Ref. BL 1005 .L4813 1989

Fitzgerald, Allan D. et al.  Augustine through the Ages:  An Encyclopedia.  Grand Rapids:  Eerdmans, 1999.
     Ref. B 655.Z69 A84 1999

Goulet, Richard.  Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques. Paris: Éditions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique,1989 --.
     Ref. B 172 .D53 1989

Guttenplan, Samuel, ed. A companion to the philosophy of mind.  Oxford: Blackwell,  1994.
     Ref.  BD 418.3 .C62 1994

Hackett, Jeremiah, ed.   Medieval Philosophers in Dictionary of Literary Biography, v. 115. Detroit : Gale Research, 1992.
     Ref. B 721 .M45 1992

Pyle, Andrew, ed.  The Dictionary of Seventeenth-Century British Philosophers.  2 vols. Bristol:  Thoemmes, 2000. 
     Ref. B 1131 .D53 2000

Reich, Warren T., editor in chief. Encyclopedia of Bioethics.  5 vols.   Rev. ed.  New York: Macmillan Pub. Co., 1995.
     Ref. QH 332 .E52 1995

Roth, John K., ed.  Ethics: Ready Reference.  Pasadena, Calif. : Salem Press, 1994.  3 vols.
     Ref. BJ 63 .E54 1994

Wells, Donald A., ed.  An Encyclopedia of War and Ethics.  Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1996.
     Ref. B 105.W3 E53 1996

Yolton, John et al, eds.  The Dictionary of Eighteenth-Century British Philosophers.  2 vols. Bristol: Thoemmes, 2000. 
    Ref. B 1301 .D527 2000

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These books provide a general bibliographic overview of the literature of philosophy.  For reasons of both quality and currency, Bynagle deserves a first look.

Bertman, Martin A.  Research Guide in Philosophy. Morristown, N.J.:  General Learning, 1974.
     Ref. B 52 .B43 1974

Bynagle, Hans E.  Philosophy:  A Guide to the Reference Literature.  2nd ed.  Littleton, Colo.:  Libraries Unlimited, 1997.
     Ref. B 72 .B96 1997

De George, Richard T.  The Philosopher's Guide to Sources, Research Tools, Professional Life, and Related Fields.  Lawrence, Kans.:  Regents Press of Kansas, 1980.
     Ref. B 53 .D45 1980

Tice, Terence N., and Thomas P. Slavens.  Research Guide to Philosophy.  Chicago:  American Library Association, 1983.
     Ref. B 52 .T5 1983

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The Philosopher's Index to articles in philosophy journals is available on the Database Network terminals in the Reference Department.  However, it is still necessary to use the printed volumes of Philosopher's Index (East Index Shelves Ref. Z 7127 .P47) to find book reviews.

Off-campus access to Philosopher's Index is also available to current SLU students, faculty, and staff either with a SLU PPP Internet access account or, for those who use a personal Internet Service Provider such as Earthlink, AOL, etc. and have a SLU VMS e-mail Username and Password, by means of SLU Proxy Access.  Just select the database from Pius Library's home page and follow the directions given.

For guidance about the range and contents of particular philosophy journals, see:

Ruben, Douglas H., comp.  Philosophy Journals and Serials:  An Analytical Guide.  Westport, CT:  Greenwood Press, 1985.
     Ref. B 72.R73 1985

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Bibliographie de la philosophie/Bibliography of Philosophy.  Paris:  Libraire Philosophique J. Vrin, 1937-. 3x/yr.
     Ref. Z 7127 .B5 (1937-1953); Ref. Z 7127 .B51 (1954-)

Bibliography of Bioethics.  Detroit:  Gale Research, 1975-80.  Vols. 1-6; New York:  Free Press, 1981-1983.  Vols. 7-9; Washington, D.C.:  Kennedy Institute of Ethics, 1984-.  Vol. 10-current.
     Ref. R 724 .B524

Brie, G. A. de. Bibliographia philosophica, 1934-1945. Antwerp: Ed. Spectrum, 1950.
     Ref  Z 7125 .B5 1950

Guerry, Herbert, ed.  A Bibliography of Philosophical Bibliographies.  Westport, CT.:  Greenwood Press, 1977.
     Ref. Z 7125 .A1 G83

International philosophical bibliography, 1991-.  Formerly Repertoire bibliographique de la philosophie, 1949-1990.  Louvain, Belgium: Institut Superieur de Philosophie.
     Ref. Z 7127 .R42

Varet, Gilbert.  Manuel de bibliographie philosophique.  Paris:  Presses Universitaires de France, 1956.  2 vols.
     Ref. Z 7125 .V37

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Pius Library owns many bibliographies on specialized branches, schools, periods, and individuals.  To search for these in SLU catalog, find the appropriate LC subject heading (for historical figures, this includes dates) and add the word "bibliography" (e.g. "Kant Immanuel 1724 1804 Bibliography")  Some specialized bibliographies include:

Bochenski, Joseph M., et al., eds.  Guide to Marxist philosophy; an introductory bibliography. Chicago: Swallow Press, 1972.
    Z 7128.D5 B6

Barth, Else M.  Women Philosophers : A Bibliography of Books through 1990.  Bowling Green, Ohio: Philosophy Documentation Center, 1992.
     Ref  B 72 .B36 1992

Bechtle, Thomas C. and Mary F. Riley.  Dissertations in Philosophy Accepted at American Universities, 1861-1975.  New York:  Garland, 1978.
     Ref. Z 7125 .B38 1978

Goldstein, Doris Mueller.  Bioethics:  A Guide to Information Sources.  Detroit:  Gale, 1982.
     Ref. Z 6675 .E8 G64 1982

Inada, Kenneth K.  Guide to Buddhist philosophy.  Boston:  G.K. Hall, 1985.
     Ref. B 162 .I5 1985

Navia, Luis E.  Socrates:  An Annotated Bibliography.  New York:  Garland, 1988.
    B 317 .N38 1988

Wei-Hsun Fu, Charles and Wing-tsit Chan.  Guide to Chinese Philosophy.  Boston:  G.K. Hall, 1978.
     Ref. B 126 .F48

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Brown, Stuart, Diané Collinson, and Robert Wilkinson, eds.  Biographical dictionary of twentieth-century philosophers.  London: Routledge, 1996.
     Ref. B 104 .B5 1996

Devine, Elizabeth, et al, eds.  Thinkers of the Twentieth Century:  A Biographical, Bibliographical and Critical Dictionary.  2nd ed. Chicago:  St. James Press, 1987.
     Ref. CT 120 .T45 1983

Dictionnaire des Philosophes.  Paris:  Presses Universitaires de France, 1984.  2 vols.
     Ref. B 42 .D52 1984

Directory of American Philosophers.  1962-63- .  Bowling Green, OH:  Philosophy Documentation Center.
     Ref. B 935 .D5 (current volume)

International Directory of Philosophy and Philosophers. 1965- .  Bowling Green, OH:  Philosophy Documentation Center.
     Ref. B 35 .I55 (current volume)

Kersey, Ethel M.  Women Philosophers:  A Bio-critical Source Book.  New York:  Greenwood, 1989.
     Ref. B 105 .W6 K47 1989

Kieran, Thomas P.  Who's Who in the History of Philosophy.  New York:  Philosophical Library, 1965.
     Ref. B 41 .K5

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A small sampling of philosophy sites on the web; the "comprehensive sites" can lead you to many more.

Comprehensive Sites

Episteme Links
     http://www.epistemelinks.com/index.asp
This site includes thousands of links to philosophy resources on the internet as well as assorted other features, including a humor section.

Philosophy Resources on the World Wide Web
     http://www.library.adelaide.edu.au/guide/hum/philosophy/
Compiled by a librarian at the University of Adelaide.

Professional Organizations

American Philosophical Association
     http://www.apa.udel.edu/apa/index.html
The organization's home page.

St. Louis Univeristy Department of Philosophy
     http://www.slu.edu/colleges/AS/philos/
Click on "links" to see additional sites partially overlapping with this list.

Other Sites of Interest

Ethics Updates
     http://ethics.acusd.edu/index.html
This site is "designed primarily to be used by ethics instructors and their students. It is intended to provide updates on current literature, both popular and professional, that relates to ethics." An outstanding site.

Mission Critical
     http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/itl/
An interactive tutorial covering basic concepts of logic and reasoning.  For a humorous supplement, see the Monty Python sketch, "Monty Python's Argument Clinic",  [http://www.mindspring.com/~mfpatton/sketch.htm].

Thomas (Aquinas) Institute, Utrecht
     http://www.thomasinstituut.org/thomasinstituut/scripts/index.htm
One example of many sites devoted to a specific philosopher. The "tools" section has a guide for researchers unfamiliar with Thomas Aquinas and12th-century scholasticism. Provides background information,  methodological suggestions, primary resource lists, and secondary source recommendations.

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