A New Encyclopedia of Philosophy from Macmillan

Encyclopedia of Philosophy  (Macmillan Reference, 2006)

Noted Austrian musicologist Otto Erich Deutsch once observed that “Reference works should initially be published in their 2nd editions.” Doherty library has recently received the 2nd edition of the Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2006) from Macmillan. The new encyclopedia greatly expands upon the original edition which was published nearly 40-years ago. The original 1967 set, edited by Paul Edwards, consisted of 8 volumes in 2,163 pages. The new edition consists of 10-volumes in 7,799 pages. It contains more than 2,100 entries, including more than 450 completely new articles. A 21-member editorial board oversaw contributions from hundreds of scholars, with Donald M. Borchert of Ohio University acting as editor-in-chief. Some original articles remain, while many more of them were updated by their original authors. Accompanying bibliographies were also updated. Useful new features include a thematically grouped index, e.g. “ancient philosophy” or “philosophy of science,” as well as greatly updated and expanded bibliographical essays on the literature of philosophy. This overview of the secondary literature— the standard dictionaries, encyclopedias, journals and subject bibliographies—may prove particularly useful to beginning scholars.According to a reviewer in Choice, “the second edition better reflects a growing global vision within this field of study to include subject areas that have recently surfaced within academic programs, e.g., applied ethics, feminist philosophy, terrorism, and various national and religious philosophies.” The set also includes over 1,000 biographical entries.

Rachel