Philosophy

Choice Reviews 2002 January (Choice Magazine)

What is now called "analytic philosophy" began in Germany with Frege's explorations into the foundations of mathematics in the last decades of the 19th century and in England with Moore and Russell's revolt against absolute idealism in the first decades of the 20th.

Martinich and Sosa (both Univ. of Texas, Austin) have put together a first-rate collection of articles covering the founders of analytic philosophy, the central figures in the development of the analytic tradition, such as Wittgenstein and Quine, and the most influential analytic philosophers on the contemporary scene.

The articles, written by some of today's leading philosophers, contain acute and illuminating expositions of the thought of nearly 40 analytic philosophers on such basic and central concepts as truth, meaning, knowledge, goodness, and the mind.

Choice Reviews 2002 February (Choice Magazine)

This new edition of an important reference source offers both historic depth and coverage of issues that have emerged in recent years, among them reproductive technologies and terrorism.

The set opens with a brief introduction and acknowledgements, a note on use, a list of entries, and a roster of contributors and editors.

The largest part of the set consists of the alphabetic encyclopedia, offering entries (with cross-references) on ethical theorists and subjects.

Choice Reviews 2001 April (Choice Magazine)

More colloquy than compendium, this remarkable volume shows scholars shining as teachers. Ingeniously, editors Brunschwig (emer., Univ. of Paris-II) and Lloyd (Univ. of Cambridge) have lured contributors into lively reflections, asking not just "How did the Greeks philosophize?" but "How did they conceive of their own philosophical practice?"

This self-referential angle steers these historians, philosophers, and philologists away from linear review. Instead, readers encounter impassioned argument about the "invention of politics" and truthfulness in history--ideal for undergraduates seeking context for their study of primary texts.

Choice Reviews 2007 January (Choice Magazine)

In this edition Bynagle (Whitworth College) has helpfully opted for a subject arrangement of the material: "General Sources," "History of Philosophy," "Branches of Philosophy," and "Miscellanea."

The annotations provided for each entry are generally helpful. The book covers core, gateway, and organizational Web sites; it amply compensates for modest cross-referencing with extensive author, title, and subject indexes.

Choice Reviews 1996 February (Choice Magazine)

Concise and readable but comprehensive in coverage, this excellent source provides short biographical entries for many philosophers from both eastern and western philosophical traditions and covers a vast number of philosophical terms, topics, and themes.

There are numerous cross-references, and the volume ends with an "Index of Selected Names Not Occurring as Headwords."

Choice Reviews 2004 April (Choice Magazine)

Price and Kearns (both of Oxford Univ.) have gathered 1,650 entries covering Greek and Roman myth and religion from the third edition of the Oxford Classical Dictionary (CH, May'97; 3rd rev. ed., CH, Oct'03).

The entries have been edited for clarity, moving in-text citations to the end of each article, translating foreign phrases, omitting contributors' initials, and removing other academic "obscurities."

The editors add an introductory essay covering characteristics of classical religions and the later reception of Greek and Roman mythology, an annotated bibliography of some 50 entries, genealogical tables, and three maps.

Students will appreciate the less intimidating tone of this volume, which retains the very useful exact citations to book, chapter, and line in primary sources such as Homer and Pindar.

Choice Reviews 1995 May (Choice Magazine)

Although this entire dictionary is by a single author, it proves broad-ranging, covering well both contemporary topics and persons and Greek and non-Western terms, and open-minded, giving generous space to Wittgenstein, about two-thirds as much to Bertrand Russell, and about half as much to Heidegger.

[...] this may be the best starting point for readers who do not already know the meaning or significance of each topic or person treated.