LibGuides: Philosophy: Reference

Online Encyclopedias

Encyclopaedia of Islam, First Edition This link opens in a new window The encyclopedia offers access to 9,000 articles and reflects the first highly international collaboration of scholars in this field. The scope of the Encyclopedia of Islam First Edition Online is philology, history, theology and law until early 20th century. The encyclopedia was originally published in print between 1913 and 1936. Availability: Full-text Date Coverage: 1913-1936 The demand for an encyclopaedic work on Islam was created by the increasing (colonial) interest in Muslims and Islamic cultures during the nineteenth century.
Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition This link opens in a new window A comprehensive reference work on the Islamic world. It contains the entire text of volume I to XII of the printed edition. It includes articles on famous Muslim personalities, tribes and dynasties, Islamic crafts, political and religious institutions, ethnography, history, monuments of the major towns and cities and much more. It contains articles, figures, drawings, genealogical tables, maps, and biographies. Availability: Full-text Date Coverage: 1954-2004
Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE This link opens in a new window Covers a wider range of disciplines and methodologies than the 2nd edition with new articles reflecting the diversity of current scholarship. The new scope includes comprehensive coverage of Islam in the twentieth century, attention to Muslim minorities all over the world, full attention to social science as well as humanistic perspectives. Availability: Full-text Date Coverage: 2007 to present

Oxford Reference Online brings together language and subject reference works into a single cross-searchable resource.

Open Access Encyclopedias

Cambridge Companions eReference

Go to Cambridge Companions This link opens in a new window database, scroll to The Cambridge Companions to Philosophy, Religion and Culture, Click on Find out more.

What is Reference

Reference books such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks and biographies help you find factual and background information about your topic.

It is advisable to look at more than one source of information to get the most information and to have a more balanced view of the topic.

Google and Wikipedia could be good places to start your search for general and initial ideas about your topic. But you will always have to use Library resources to get more credible information.

Reference Books

The following is a selected list of reference materials on Philosophy available through the library. For a complete list, go to the library catalogue LIBCAT , perform a keyword search (philosophy) and restrict to items held at Jafet Reference.

Encyclopedia of the Quran by Jane Dammen McAuliffe
an encyclopaedic dictionary of qurʼānic terms, concepts, personalities, place names, cultural history and exegesis extended with essays on the most important themes and subjects within qurʼānic studies
The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy by Robert Audi (Editor)
Call Number: J 103:C178c2
Publication Date: 1999
This dictionary offers up-to-date survey of ideas and thinkers written by an international team of 436 contributors. Includes comprehensive entries on major philosophers, extensive coverage of rapidly developing fields such as the philosophy of mind and applied ethics, and much more.
Companion to Aesthetics by Stephen Davies ... [et al.]
Call Number: J 111.85:C737c2
Publication Date: 2009
Alphabetically arranged articles providing comprehensive treatment of the main topics and writers in this area of aesthetics.
A Concise Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Religion by Anthony C. Thiselton
Call Number: J 210:T448c
Publication Date: 2002
Cover thinkers from Plato to Freud, offer detailed explanations of key themes such as evil, and outlining clear definitions of complex ideas like'the doctrine of analogy,' this is a comprehensive reference tool for all those studying, or interested in, the philosophy of religion.
The Oxford Companion to Philosophy by Ted Honderich (Editor)
Call Number: J 100:O982h2
Publication Date: 2005
this book offers clear and reliable guidance to the ideas of philosophers from antiquity to the present day and to the major philosophical systems around the globe, The Oxford Companion to Philosophy is the definitive philosophical reference work for readers at all levels.
A Companion to Feminist Philosophy by Alison M. Jaggar and Iris Marion Young
Call Number: J 305.42:C737j
Publication Date: 2000
Including over 50 newly-commissioned survey articles, this volume is a comprehensive guide to feminist philosophy.