Product Description

Comprehensive and up-to-date, this new edition of "A Dictionary of Philosophy" spans 2500 years of philosophical thought, and offers an invaluable reference to the student of philosophy and the general reader alike. It has extensive coverage of modern as well as historical fields, encompassing personalities, terminology and vocabulary. It extends from the classical thinkers, through Aquinas, Descartes, Spinoza and Kant to Russell, Wittgenstein, Husserl, Baudrillard and Derrida. It includes entries by leading figures in their field on environmental ethics, the philosophy of economics, externalism, the concept of God, practical reason and virtue ethics, among many others. Particular attention given to continental philosophy. It has over 2000 entries, with full cross-references.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #538878 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Review
This major new edition pays particular attention to continental philosophy as well as updating and expanding Professor Flew's coverage of the more traditional aspects of the subject.

About the Author
Stephen Priest is Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford and a member of Wolfson College, Oxford. Antony Flew is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Reading.

Customer Reviews

Compact but packed with useful details
As a mature philosophy student this book has been invaluable in my studies. With clear and relevant cross-references it guides the user easily to all relevant information on any philosophical subject. Patience is needed sometimes, though, when a cross-reference directs the user to a very lengthy piece, usually biographical, in order to find the material being sought.
On the whole a valuable reference book for any budding philosopher and for those more experienced in the discipline.
Good value for money, and even an interesting book to dip into with a cuppa to find out just 'what it's all about'!!

Indispensable
This book is remarkably useful as an aid to the study of philosophy. Its huge range of entries include short biographies of important philosophers, definitions of terms, full descriptions of key arguments including problems with them, and very useful cross-references. The articles, though short, manage to be impressively detailed and informative in the short spaces afforded each of them. Some of them, though, are a little too technical, without giving a good enough general explanation - the entry on QUANTUM THEORY is a prime example, and many of the entries on subjects to do with logic or the forms of arguments are also offenders. In addition, while the original works of philosophers are mentioned, rarely if ever are suggestions made for further reading - something that would have been very welcome. For slightly more easy to understand, longer entries, including more general essays and excellent references to further reading, I recommend The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, edited by Ted Honderich. Impressively, though, A Dictionary of Philosophy does not only include philosophical entries, but also mentions several areas of mathematics and the sciences. In summary, then, it is an excellent reference text, and at the price one that every student of philosophy should own, but one which is not sufficient on its own to learn the subject from.

Pan Dictionary Of Philososphy
Many years ago as an undergrad studying Literature & Philosophy I encountered this book. It is probably one of the better philosophy dictionaries on the market. The explanations are clear and concise (and for a philosophy dictionary that is high praise indeed!) Whilst it is in need of updating to embrace current trends (and it would be nice to have an hardback edition) it is a must-have on the shelf next to the more modern philosophical reference books.