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Philosophy

 

Review Essays of Academic, Professional & Technical Books in the Humanities & Sciences

 

The Blackwell Companion to Philosophy 2nd Edition edited by Nicholas Bunnin and E.P. Tsui-James (Blackwell Publishing) (hardcover) This Companion complements the Blackwell Companions to Philosophy series by presenting a new overview of philosophy prepared by 43 leading British and American philosophers. Introductory essays by John Searle and Bernard Williams, which assess the changes that have shaped the subject in recent decades, are followed by chapters exploring central problems and debates in the principal subdisciplines of philosophy and in specialized fields, chapters concerning the work of great historical figures and chapters discussing newly developing fields within philosophy. Throughout the course of its chapters, the Companion examines the views of many of the most widely influential figures of contemporary philosophy.

Although wide-ranging, the Companion is not exhaustive, and emphasis is placed on developments in Anglo-American philosophy in the latter part of the twentieth century. A premise underlying the Companion is that major participants in philosophical debate can provide accounts of their own fields that are stimulating, accessible, stylish and authoritative.

In its primary use, the Companion is an innovative textbook for introductory courses in philosophy. Teachers can use the broad coverage to select chapters in a flexible way to support a variety of courses based on contemporary problems or the historical development of the subject. Specialist chapters can be used selectively to augment standard introductory topics or to prepare students individually for term papers or essays. Chapters include initial summaries, boxed features, cross-references, suggestions for further reading, references and discussion questions. In addition, terms are marked for a common glossary. These features and the problem-setting nature of the discussions encourage students to see the subject as a whole and to gain confidence that explorations within philosophy can lead to unexpected and rewarding insights. In this aspect, the Companion reflects the contributors' experience of small group teaching, in which arguments and perspectives are rigorously tested and in which no solution is imposed.

In its secondary use, the Companion will accompany students throughout their undergraduate careers and will also serve the general reader wishing to understand the central concepts and debates within philosophy or its constituent disciplines. Students are unlikely to read the whole volume in their first year of study, but those continuing with philosophy will find their appreciation of the work deepening over time

as they gain insight into the topics of the more advanced chapters. The Companion will help them to formulate questions and to see connections between what they have already studied and new terrain.

In its final use, the Companion bears a special relationship to the Blackwell Companions to Philosophy series. Many readers will wish to read the integrated discussions of the chapters of the present Companion for orientation before turning to the detailed, alphabetically arranged articles of the volumes in the Companion series. Although conceived as a separate volume, the Companion to Philosophy will serve as a useful guide to the other excellent Companions in what amounts to a comprehensive encyclopedia of philosophy.

The general reader might begin with the introductory essays and turn to chapters on Epistemology, Metaphysics, Ethics and Political and Social Philosophy, or to historical chapters from Ancient Greek Philosophy to Hume. Cross-references and special interests will lead readers to other chapters.

Cross-references in the text are marked in small capitals followed by a chapter number or page numbers in parentheses: Ethics (chapter 6) or Probability (pp. 308-11). We have used our judgement in marking terms appearing many times in the text for cross-references, and hope that we have supplied guidance without distracting readers. The Companion also provides a glossary of 210 terms and a comprehensive index. Both appear at the end of the volume, and readers are advised to use them regularly for help in reading the chapters.


The second edition provides new chapters on Philosophy of Biology; Bioethics, Genethics and Medical Ethics; Environmental Ethics; Business Ethics; Ethnicity, Culture and Philosophy; Plato and Aristotle; Francis Bacon; Nietzsche; Husserl and Heidegger: and Sartre, Foucault and Derrida. There are significant revisions or extensions to chapters on Metaphysics, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Mind, Political and Social Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy and Feminism, and Hobbes. The discussion of Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz is now divided between two chapters, and in a new section Malebranche is considered along with Descartes in the first of these. A longer chapter on Medieval Philosophy replaces the chapter by C. F. J. Martin, who was unavailable to extend his work. We welcome our new contributors and hope that readers will continue to be challenged and delighted by the Companion as a whole.

For most of the modern period of philosophy, from Descartes to the present, epistemology has been the central philosophical discipline. It raises questions about the scope and`limits of knowledge, its sources and justification, and it deals with sceptical arguments concerning our claims to knowledge and justified belief This chapter firstly considers difficulties facing attempts to define knowledge and, secondly, explores influential responses to the challenge of scepticism. Epistemology is closely related to METAPHYSICS (chapter 2), which is the philosophical account of what kinds of entities there are. Epistemological questions are also crucial to most of the other areas of philosophy examined in this volume, from ETHICS (chapter 6) to PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE (chapter 9) and PHILOSOPHY OF`MATHEMATICS (chapter 11) to PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY (chapter 14). Chapters e; on individuals or groups of philosophers from DESCARTES (see chapter 26) to KANT '(chapter 32) discuss classical epistemology, while several chapters about more recent .philosophers also follow epistemological themes.

Useful Introductions & References to Philosophy & Its History

PHILOSOPHY AND ETHICS: Macmillan Compendium editor-in-chief Donald M. Borchert ( MacMillan Library Reference)

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHILOSOPHY: Supplement edited by Donald M. Borchert ($167.25, hardcover, 775 pages, MacMillan Library Reference; ISBN: 0028646290)

The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, originally published in 1967 under the editorship of Paul Edwards, remains to this day the best and most comprehensive English-language reference source for philosophy. But as the editor of this new single-volume supplement points out, "Much has happened in the discipline of philosophy since 1967." Hence, there is a need for some updating.

The supplement is not intended to be used on its own. Rather, it "presupposes and builds on the work embodied in the Encyclopedia" and is selective of topics chosen for inclusion. Overview articles on areas within the discipline of philosophy (e.g., Aesthetics, Metaphysics) update the user on developments since the publication of the encyclopedia. While the encyclopedia contains a lengthy survey of the history of aesthetics, the entry in the supplement discusses more recent approaches to aesthetic theory (e.g., postmodernist, feminist) not covered in the original work. Updates are povided for individual philosophers as well, from Aristotle to Wittgenstein. The supplement also includes new topics such as African philosophy, biomedical ethics, evidentialism, women in the history of philosophy, and the varied dimensions of feminist philosophy. Individual thinkers whose influence has grown in the past three decades have been given separate entries. Nearly one-half of the personal entries in the supplement are new and include such philosophers as Saul Kripke, John Rawls, and Georg Henrik von Wright.

Articles in the supplement are signed by the scholars who authored them and usually include a supplemental bibliography. The bibliographies for entries that are updates cite scholarship produced in the past 30 years. The supplement includes a comprehensive index to both itself and the encyclopedia, and cross-referencing in the supplement is made to entries in both works.

This general selections from The Encyclopedia of Philosophy and Supplement concentrates upon the major Western Eorpoean and American developments in philosophy in the last 30 years. A few classic profiles are reproduced from the original 8 volume work but the bulk of this reference work includes much of the awarding Supplement as to be suitable for a small community library.

In 1967 Macmillan published the eight-volume Encyclopedia of Philosophy under the editorship of Paul Edwards. The Encyclopedia soon became not only a standard reference work on the shelves of virtually every college and public library, but also a frequently consulted resource in the personal libraries of countless professors and graduate students. In the three decades following the publication of the Encyclopedia, intense and intellectually powerful discussions have taken place within the discipline of philosophy that have resulted in exciting discoveries, fresh insights, and even the emergence of entirely`new subfields such as feminist philosophy and applied ethics. Early in the 1990s Macmillan decided that the Encyclopedia needed updating and asked me to serve as the editor-in-chief to prepare a single-volume Supplement that would survey the past three decades of philosophical development.

Together they assembled the Supplement to reflect the recent significant developments in every major subfield of philosophy, and Macmillan Library Reference published the volume in 1996. The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, now updated with the Supplement, would continue to be a valuable resource for students, library patrons, and professional philosophers.

As the last half of the twentieth century unfolded, one subfield of philosophy and ethics became increasingly a matter of widespread public interest and concern. In the professions and in business, in politics and in sports, in virtually every field of human endeavor, ethical problems surfaced that needed careful analysis and thoughtful resolution. Many professions and organizations formed ethics committees and instituted codes of ethics. The single-volume PHILOSOPHY AND ETHICS could respond to and incorporate articles in their entirety, including bibliographies, selected from the Encyclopedia and the Supplement. Particular attention has been paid to articles dealing with ethics, while not neglecting the other subfields of philosophy and the biographical entries of the major philosophers throughout the centuries.

Features include the following:

• Call-Out Quotations: These relevant, often provocative quotations are highlighted in order to promote exploration and add visual appeal to the page.

• Cross-references: Appearing at the end of most articles, cross-references will encourage further reading and research.

• Photographs: Chosen to complement the text, the photo program is designed to further engage the reader.

• Index: An extensive index at the end of the Compendium will provide ample opportunities for further exploration.

Since 1961, PHILOSOPHIC CLASSICS has provided a generation of students with an anthology of quality readings of primary importance in the history of Western philosophy. Using complete works, or where appropriate, complete sections of works, this series allows the philosophers to speak directly to the reader so that the encounter with philosophy is not vieled by secondary summaries.

This series includes texts central to the thinker's philosophy, using the best available translations. Introductions to the readings are divided into three sections:

• Biographical, provides a glimpse into the life of the philosopher

• Philosophical, presents a resume of the philosopher's thought; and

• Bibliographical, offers suggestions for further reading.

In addition, drawings, photographs, and time lines help put the readings in context. In short, every effort has been made to help the reader understand the primary source materials.

PHILOSOPHIC CLASSICS is available in the following formats:

• Volume 1: Ancient Philosophy edited by Forrest E. Baird and Walter Arnold Kaufmann ($30.67, paperback, 576 pages, 3rd edition Prentice Hall; ISBN: 0130213144)

• Volume II: Medieval Philosophy edited by Forrest E. Baird and Walter Arnold Kaufmann ($30.67, paperback, 576 pages, 3rd edition Prentice Hall; ISBN: 0130213152

• Volume III: Modern Philosophy edited by Forrest E. Baird and Walter Arnold Kaufmann ($30.67, paperback, 656 pages, 3rd edition, Prentice Hall; ISBN: 0130213160

• Volume IV: Nineteenth-Century Philosophy edited by Forrest E. Baird and Walter Arnold Kaufmann ($30.67, paperback, 528 pages, 2nd edition, Prentice Hall; ISBN: 0130215333

• Volume V: Twentieth-Century Philosophy edited by Forrest E. Baird and Walter Arnold Kaufmann ($30.67, paperback, 464 pages, 2nd edition, Prentice Hall; ISBN: 0130215341

• PHILOSOPHIC CLASSICS: From Plato to Derrida edited by Forrest E. Baird and Walter Arnold Kaufmann ($30.00, hardcover, 0000 pages, 3rd edition Prentice Hall;ISBN: 0130215325

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