Dictionary of Philosophy [Hardcover]

Thomas Mautner (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0631184597 | ISBN-13: 978-0631184591 | Publication Date: January 30, 1996 | Edition: 1

This dictionary is the ideal one volume philosophy reference source for general readers, students, and academics. It covers all the key concepts, doctrines and schools of thought from both the Anglo-American and Continental philosophical traditions. A unique feature is the powerful series of philosophical self-portraits by leading figures, including Sir Isaiah Berlin, Alasdair MacIntyre, W. V. O. Quine, Richard Rorty and John Searle.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is a worthwhile addition to two other recent reference works in philosophy, The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy (LJ 7/95) and The Oxford Companion to Philosophy (LJ 7/95). Unlike the earlier two, this one limits itself strictly to Western philosophy and philosophers and uses a more traditional dictionary-style format, with generally shorter articles and a greater number of entries. Although there is overlap in coverage in all three of these works, each offers entries, insights, and features the others don't have, and all three can profitably coexist in most reference collections. A unique feature of this one is a philosophical "summing up" of their thinking by many of today's leading philosophers, including Isaiah Berlin, J.J.C. Smart, Alasdair MacIntyre, John Passmore, W.V.O. Quine, Richard Rorty, John Searle, and Peter Singer. There is a growing interest in philosophy today, and this efflorescence of reference works can only be applauded.?Leon H. Brody, U.S. Office of Personnel Mgt. Lib., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"More than 100 Western philosophers have contributed. Those eminent enough to deserve entries themselves, thus absolving the editor and allowing them some modest (or not-so-modest) self advertisement." Nicholas Bagnall, The Sunday Telegraph.

"Mautner's Dictionary is a definitive work - an authoritative resource mapping the terrain of a subject which has spread out to encompass different traditions and approaches, each with its own vocabulary and conceptual structure. Mautner has accomplished the difficult feat of explaining clearly and succinctly, in the plain language of everyday conversation, concepts and theories at the heart of European and American philosophy. He has also had the good sense to stand back occasionally, and allow some of the major contributors to contemporary philosophy to tell their own story in the series of invaluable brief 'self-portraits.' This is a 'user-friendly' volume which can be guaranteed to provide the reader with reliable and up-to-date information on developments, both historical and contemporary, in Western philosophy." Brenda Almond, Univeristy of Hull

"A unique feature of this one is a philosophical "summing up" of their thinking by many of today's leading philosophers, including Isaiah Berlin, J. J. C. Smart, Alasdair MacIntyre, John Passmore, W. V. O. Quine, Richard Rorty, John Searle and Peter Singer." Library Journal

"Thomas Mautner's claim to attention is that his entries are relatively concise and that many of the entries on living philosophers are "self-portraits" written by the subjects themselves. His dictionary would suit students quickly seeking definitions of terms they are encountering for the first time." Maurice Dunlevy, Canberra Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (January 30, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0631184597
• ISBN-13: 978-0631184591
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,794,618 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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