Product Description

Widely acclaimed as the most authoritative and accessible one-volume dictionary available in English (and now with translations into Chinese, Korean, Russian, Italian, and Spanish underway) this second edition offers an even richer, more comprehensive, and more up-to-date survey of ideas and thinkers written by an international team of 436 contributors. Includes the most comprehensive entries on major philosophers, 400 new entries including over 50 on preeminent contemporary philosophers, extensive coverage of rapidly developing fields such as the philosophy of mind and applied ethics, more entries on non-Western philosophy than any comparable volume, and increased coverage of Continental philosophy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #104062 in Books
• Published on: 1999-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 1039 pages

Review
"The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy is very comprehensive, thoroughly up-to-date, and probably the best short reference book in English on philosophy." Richard Rorty, University of Virginia

"The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy is a superb reference work that will help philosophers and non-philosophers alike to understand major figures and ideas in the history of philosophy. Superbly cross-referenced and meticulously edited it will also provide students and teachers with leads to follow, and guides for further reading and research." Edward Said, Columbia University

"Elegantly-written and thoughtfully compiled, the Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy is an essential reference work for any humanist's library. An accessible digest of even the most complex ideas central to the Western philosophical tradition, the Dictionary is a remarkably useful introduction to the history of ideas and to the thinkers who have been so passionate about these ideas." Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

"The first edition of this comprehensive yet concise dictionary quickly established itself as one of the preeminent reference sources in the field. The second edition is significantly larger, including 400 new entries, many on non-Western and non-European philosophy. A noteworthy change from the first edition is the inclusion of some 50 entries on living philosophers, and much attention has been paid to rapidly developing fields such as bioethics and political philosophy. Many of the existing entries have been expanded (e.g., the entry "postmodern" is some 50 percent longer than in the previous edition). A collaborative work of truly international scope, the dictionary is both indispensable both for the range of subjects covered and for the lucidity of the writing." J. R. Luttrell, Princeton University

"Written with authority and comprehensiveness, The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy belongs in every philosophy reference collection." Reference Book Review

"It is sure to be a mainstay reference work for years to come. Highly recommended." The Readers Review

"Concise and readable but comprehensive in coverage..." S. P. Foster, Choice

"This is easily the best one-volume reference tool on philosophy that I have seen...I found articles on topics that I knew nothing about very helpful, succinct and clear; on those I am familiar with, the treatment was invariably excellent." Australasian Journal of Philosophy

"All in all, The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy is a remarkable achievement....it will prove to be extremely useful to teachers and students of philosophy." Ethics

"This is a must-buy volume, a standard reference work on which scholars will be relying for decades." Steve W. Lemke, The Theological Educator

Customer Reviews

Wonderful resource for students and laypersons
This is easily the most used book in my collection. I mostly use it as a reference when reading philosophical texts, but I also enjoy it on its own. I am extremely curious, and the helpful cross references allow me to follow my thoughts wherever they take me. The entries on logic can be quite opaque for those not already trained in symbolic logic, but the rest are accessible to the educated layperson. Entries on specific philosophers are well organized and masterfully summarize biography and theory. If you are trying to immerse yourself in philosophy or contemporary social theory, this book will be of immense help.

Good for Analytic, but Oxford Companion is Better
I have used both the Oxford Companion to Philosophy and this dictionary. I prefer the Oxford Companion because it contains more definitions and clearer expositions. But both books neglect recent Continental types of philosophy; yet, the Oxford fares much better in this regard than the Cambridge.

Clear, concise and compelling
All the reviews have already said everything I would, so I am adding my rating. This title is concise, comprehensive on philosophy and each entry is straight to the point. Sometimes I want a bit more information, but then this is not an encyclopaedia or a primary text. For what it is: a philosophy dictionary, it cannot be beat.