The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy [Library Binding]

Robert Audi (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 26, 2008 | ISBN-10: 1439503508 | ISBN-13: 978-1439503508 | Edition: 2 Reprint

This is the most authoritative and comprehensive one-volume dictionary of philosophy available in English. It contains over 4,000 entries, which range in length from 100 to 4,000 words. The Dictionary has been written by an international team of over 350 experts, so, rather than offering the limited perspective of a single writer, it distils the collective knowledge of the professional community of philosophers in an accessible manner.The Cambridge Dictionary clearly and concisely defines both technical terms and crucial concepts, and will promote the understanding of philosophy on all levels and across all fields. It includes substantial explanatory articles on all major philosophers as well as hundreds of minor figures. There are expansive, up-to-date overviews of all the important sub-disciplines such as ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of mind and logic. No other reference work on philosophy contains so many entries on related subjects such as cognitive science, linguistics, theology, law, history of science and literature.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'... a beguiling editorial thoroughness, concision and clarity of presentation are the hallmarks of this distinguished volume ... will prove its usefulness over the years to come.' Edward Neill, Times Education Supplement

' ... wonderful cross-referencing which makes the volume so addictive as the reader pursues his or her own 'figure in the carpet'. Edward Neill, Times Education Supplement

'This is easily the best one-volume reference tool on philosophy that I have seen.' Graham Nerlich, Australasian Journal of Philosophy

'... the next reference work in philosophy that every library should own is The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy ... highly recommended for all libraries.' Philosophy and Religion

'Robert Audi has undoubtedly produced the most comprehensive single-volume dictionary of philosophy - ever. It would make a fine addition to any philosophy student's library.' Rory Fox, The Heythop Journal --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

This is the most authoritative and comprehensive one-volume dictionary of philosophy available in English. It contains over 4,000 entries, which range in length from 100 to 4,000 words. The Dictionary has been written by an international team of over 350 experts. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Library Binding
• Publisher: Paw Prints 2008-06-26; 2 Reprint edition (June 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439503508
• ISBN-13: 978-1439503508
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,569,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best there is, not the best there could be, October 13, 2000

By 

Dragos Bucurenci (Bucharest, Romania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy (Paperback)

By getting the second edition of the Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy I believe to have achieved the best dictionary of this kind. But when I say "the best" I mean "the best there is" and not "the best there could be", since, apart from the enormous and useful information offered by this work, which is in no way comparable with others of the same kind that I have read or consulted, there are certain lacks that bothered me. In my opinion, there are three critics that can be opposed to the Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy. The first one is the preponderance of the information concerning modern Philosophy and Logic, which is not justified by the importance of the concepts or authors involved. For example, the article concerning the theory of "possible worlds" (which has really been given enough importance only in the last half of the XXth century) is longer than the article concerning Zeno's paradoxes. Also, minor philosophers and logicians of the XXth century are presented in distinct articles, while the presocratics (Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Zeno of Elea, Anaxagoras etc.) are all presented in one article and some of them didn't even get their name mentioned. The second critic is similar to the first one, but it concerns a certain part of non-modern Philosophy: the scholastic (medieval) one. The schools, authors, works and concepts of this age are presented partially or aren't presented at all. Examples: I couldn't find any information about Joachim Jungus or about his "Logica Hamburgensis"; Raymundus Lullus is presented in an article of the same length as the one about a Chinese neo-Confucian philosopher that lived a century before him and didn't make any great revolution or anticipation in oriental Philosophy (as Lullus did in European Logic and Algebra); the discussion of the universals has no article of her own, only one side of the discussion (the realism) being presented and the other one (nominalism) ignored, not to speak of the authors involved in this discussion, most of them not being mentioned. Finally, it bothered me the accentuation of Anglo-Saxon Philosophy and Logic, understandable only if the dictionary would have been written for the use of the people from UK or US (the utility of this dictionary, in my opinion, was meant to be universal). I believe it to be unjustified to present a Scottish philosopher such as Mary Sheperd (whose influence in philosophy is minor) in a dictionary that ignores important thinkers of Antique Philosophy. However, since I don't mean to discourage the possible buyer or reader, I repeat what I've said in the beginning: although it has certain lacks and could have been written in a better way, I believe that the Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy is the best work of this kind. Not only somebody interested in Philosophy as a hobby, but also somebody who is or intends to get specialized in Philosophy will find in this work useful information, that one might have problems in finding using ordinary dictionaries.

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The dictionary is balanced and readable., April 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy (Paperback)

This is the best of the philosophy "dictionaries". Far from a bias toward the East or against the Continent, the CDP has one fairly obvious selection critieria. Anybody still alive doesn't get in. There is no Derrida, but there is also no Putnam, no Davidson, no Searle, no Rorty, no Habermas, and so on. Each of these philosophers are discussed in articles about particular ideas. They just don't have biographical entries. The only serious quarrel I have concerns the use of the word "dictionary". Many basic philosophical terms are omitted and the articles, though coherent, balanced and readable, are of encyclopedic length. Looks more like a small encyclopedia of philosophy to me.

54 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Tough going, September 5, 2000

By 

Scott Saccenti (Colora, MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy (Paperback)

This is not a reference work for beginners. The "definitions" are densely written, by scholars too used to reading some dense writing themselves. It's quite possible this is a useful resource for those with at least moderate exposure to the field--as evidenced by the other reader reviews. But I would warn those looking for quick overviews and accessible summaries of difficult concepts to eschew this one. I'm an amateur, and I didn't find this helpful.