Harvard has many resources, in both print and electronic formats, to assist you in your philosophical research endeavors. This guide, aimed at a general audience of all levels, presents a selective overview of the best of these resources. Philosophy touches many other subjects, such as psychology, economics, the classics, history, and literature, to name but a few. Resources in these disciplines might also be of use, depending on your research topic -- you may want to consult subject guides in these areas. Many of the print secondary resources listed in this guide can be found both at Widener and Robbins, along with primary source texts. Additionally, you can find other materials at Lamont (for general philosophy) or at Cabot (for logic, mathematics, and philosophy of science.)Under each of the headings below, you will find annotated listings of print, Internet, and database resources in philosophy, as well as their locations, that you may find useful. (For databases and other electronic resources available via HOLLIS, you will need your Harvard ID number and PIN to access these from a non-Harvard location. Please click here to learn more about how to obtain a PIN.) Please let me know if you find dead links, or additional resources that you believe should be listed in this guide.
Finding Books & Articles
To find bibliographies of books and articles in the HOLLIS Catalog, in Expanded Search do a variety of keyword searches (Keywords Anywhere) plus the standard term "bibliography" (Subject words). Notice the Subjects on good records for terms for additional searches. Examples: <Kant> and <bibliography>, <Ethics> and <bibliography>.
Philosopher's Index provides bibliographic information and abstracts for articles and books on philosophy published since 1940. This is the electronic version of the print edition found in Robbins and in Widener. While most of the citations are complete, not all of them have complete or well-done bibliographic information. You may need to piece together what work the citation references from other sources.
The Philosopher's Index recently launched an upgraded search interface. Now, there are three search options: basic search, advanced search, and index search. The basic search allows the user to search by keyword only – this generally returns a greater number of hits, but is useful for general searches to get a feel for what might exist on a topic. The advanced search functionality, on the other hand, has pull-down menus and a more sophisticated layout that allows for more targeted searching. The index search allows the user to search several of the database's indexes to see how many articles exist in the category listed. This is useful, for example, to see how many times an author has published, how often authors use certain descriptors, how many times articles from the respective journals are listed, etc.
The layout of the new interface allows for easier navigation of the database and greater customization of the search page. The clumsy buttons and antiquated layout of the old interface have been replaced with new GUI (graphic user interface) formats that facilitate use of this database.
Additionally, once you have a citation in Philosopher's Index, you can click on "Find it @ Harvard". This means that, if Harvard subscribes to the journal referenced in the citation, the user will be able to directly link to the citation from the Index, rather than having to log out of the Index to get to the appropriate source. However, "Find it @ Harvard" generally appear next to a citation regardless of whether Harvard subscribes to the publication – the user will not know if there is electronic access until she tries to access it via this means.
Academic Search Premier (via EBSCO Host) contains material from thousands of journals. Full-text articles are available from about half of these journals. All journal citations, whether full-text or bibliographic-only, are fully indexed and abstracted . The collection is particularly strong in the social sciences and the humanities. To aid your searching, these tips are helpful:
- The default search searches only the title, abstract, subject headings, and author fields. It does not search full-text unless you check off the box at the bottom of the search page.
- Titles and phrases must go in quotes to ignore field codes and Boolean operators. The database reads “is” and “an” as field codes and will return “no hits” unless these words are placed in quotation marks.
- There is a new field code: jn = journal name. This code is useful for finding one-word periodical titles such as Time and Science .
L'Annee Philologique is a bibliographic database archiving hundreds of thousands of records in the field of classics from 1969 to 2001, with new records added yearly. The database does not provide full-text, but only a citation, from which you can locate the full-text print or electronic source. It is a good place to find information on ancient Western philosophy and related areas. The works cited in this database are in English, French, German, Italian, and other languages. Additionally, some of the search functionality may appear briefly in French.
There are several search options from which to choose: modern author, full-text (which does not return full-text, though), ancient authors, subjects & disciplines, date, and other criteria. However, there does not appear to be any advanced search functionality, and it does not appear that one can combine search options.
Bibliografía española de revistas científicas de ciencias sociales y humanidades, 1995- .
Widener: Ask for CD-ROMs at Reference Desk
Continues:
Indice espanol de humanidades. Serie D, Filosofia, 1989-?
Widener: WID-LC B5.I53x (1989) Harvard Depository
Which continues:
Indice espanol de humanidades, 1976-88.
Widener: WID-LC AS1.I5
Bibliografia filosofica italiana, 1949- . Unannotated references to Italian philosophical literature grouped by broad subjects with author and subject index.
Widener: Phil 75.41 Bound volumes (1990-96) in Stacks. Earlier volumes (1949-79) at Harvard Depository
Bibliographie de la philosophie, 1937-1953. Author list with subject index. The final volume, vol. 10, and the succeeding series under the same title do not include articles.
Widener: Harvard Depository B77.Z99 B52x
Bibliographia philosophica, 1934-1945. Covers WWII gaps in Bibliographie de la philosophie and Repertoire bibliographique.
Andover-Harv. Theol: Ref. Z7125.B7
Widener: WID-LC B77.Z99 B75 1950
Widener: Phil 75.43
v. 1. Bibliographia historiae philosophiae
v. 2. Bibliographia philosophiae
Bibliography of philosophy, psychology, and cognate subjects, by B. Rand. 2 v. 1905. A bibliography of articles from the 19th century and before, arranged by topic and philosopher.
Widener: RR 4901.4
Ethics index: an interdisciplinary resource of journal and essay information in the field of ethics, 1990- . Covers periodical articles and essays in books.
Andover-Harv. Theol: Ref. CD-ROM BJ1.E82
FRANCIS, 1984- . FRANCIS indexes the periodical literature of many social sciences/humanities disciplines worldwide.
FRANCIS: Source Titles List includes the continuation of:Bulletin signaletique. 519: Philosophie, 1969-94.
Andover-Harv. Theol: Ref. Z7127.B82 v. 24-35 Library has: 1969-81
Widener: WID-LC B77.Z99 F722x Library has: 1969-94which continues (in part):
Bulletin signaletique. 19-24, Sciences humaines, philosophie, 1956-68.
Andover-Harv. Theol: Ref. Z7127.B8
Widener: WID-LC B77.Z99 F72x & axwhich continues:
Bulletin analytique. Philosophie, 1947-55.
Andover-Harv. Theol: Ref. Z7127.B8
Countway Medicine: Serial Library has: 1947-49 (incomplete)
Tozzer: L.Soc.42.103.3.2.19 Library has: 1947-50
Widener: WID-LC B77.Z99 F722x
International philosophical bibliography, 1991- . Covers books and articles in philosophy published worldwide. Book reviews are listed in the Autumn issue.
Widener: WID-LC B72.Z99 I58x
Continues: Repertoire bibliographique de la philosophie, 1949-90.
Widener: Phil 27.4.5which continues: Repertoire bibliographique, mai 1934-nov. 1948.
Widener: Phil 27.4
JSTOR archives the contents of several hundred journals in several disciplines. Of these, some are philosophy journals, such as Ethics, Noûs, and Philosophical Quarterly. JSTOR provides full-text of the articles in PDF and HTML formats, along with abstracts and stable URLs for posting in bibliographies. The articles go back as far as the mid-nineteenth century in some cases; however, JSTOR does not include articles from roughly the past 5 years.
It is not always clear that, when searching multiple terms, the search engine is finding both of them at the same time. It appears that it finds one or the other term, but not both. However, you can limit your searches to a specific academic discipline or discipline, or to individual publications. Finally, remember that JSTOR archives only some philosophy journals. There may be other relevant journals in print and in other databases besides this one.
Die Philosophie der Gegenwart, 1908-1913. Periodical articles, books, essays, dissertations in classified arrangement with name (subject and author) index.
Widener: Harvard Depository Phil 25.12
Project MUSE maintained by Johns Hopkins University, provides electronic access to over several hundred journals in the humanities, mathematics, and the social sciences. Unlike JSTOR, these are recent articles (i.e., generally within the last five to seven years.)
The interface has recently been updated with new graphics and a slightly different layout. When you initially login, you will be presented with a list of the journals housed within Project MUSE. Find the Search link at the top of the page, and go to Advanced Search. You will be able to search by individual journal, multiple journals, or by subject, as well as limit results by type of document, e.g., article, poem, review, and the like.
ScienceDirect houses the full-text of Elsevier's science journals, including the Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science. This database allows you to search all of its sources at once; journals only; Medline only (no full-text); International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences only; and SCIRUS only (a Web search engine). The basic search defaults to searching only the abstract, title, and keywords. For full-text, select it from the pull-down menu. The advanced search option requires the use of Boolean logic. When asked for which subject area to search, select Arts and Humanities. You will then be able to search all of the periodicals most relevant to philosophy. Additionally, there is an option to view each periodical individually, by volume, and by issue.
Sommaire idéologique des ouvrages et des revues de philosophie [title varies], 1895-1914.
Widener: Harvard Depository Phil 75.11
Synergy. The database, Synergy, houses full-text of journals published by Blackwell. Journals in philosophy include, among others, Analysis, Midwest Studies in Philosophy, Noûs, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophical Investigations, The Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophy & Public Affairs, and Ratio. The database offers simple and advanced search functionality across all or several journals, or one journal at a time. Additionally, the user can browse the subject tree menu on the home page when they initially log into the database.
Bioethics
Resources are available through:
National Institutes of Health Bioethics Resources on the Web
National Reference Center for Bioethics Literature
These sites include, among other resources:PubMed indexes English-language literature on health care and biomedical ethics, law and public policy. Includes the citations from BIOETHICSLINE (1973-2000) which has been discontinued and its contents, plus new indexing, incorporated into PubMed and the National Library of Medicine's LOCATORplus. Periodical articles are now indexed in PubMed (Use Harvard Libraries link for full text access); books, book chapters, and dissertations are in the National Library of Medicine's LOCATORplus [http://locatorplus.gov].
To limit to bioethics sources in PubMed, choose Limits, then choose Bioethics under Subsets. Limiting in LocatorPlus is more complicated, see:
In PubMed, to see the MESH (Medical Subject Headings), open the menu next to the Display button and choose Citation.
Print version:
Bibliography of bioethics, 1975- . Subject arrangement of articles and books with author index. Each volume contains the new citations added in a twelve-month period.
LOCATION: Andover-Harv. Theol: Ref. Z6675.E8 W34 (1975-83)
LOCATION: Countway Medicine: Ref.21 ZW 50 B581
LOCATION: Widener: WID-LC R724.Z99 B53x (1975, 1988-)
Book Reviews
General sources include: Academic Search Premier, Social Science Citation Index, Arts & Humanities Citation Index and Periodicals Index Online (for pre-1995 books) (all 4 in Harvard Libraries). Additional general sources for book reviews. Some of the specialized indexes and bibliographies listed in this guide carry book reviews.
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, 1st edition. Robert Audi, general editor. Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Ron Blazek and Elizabeth Smith Aversa's The Humanities: a Selective Guide to Information Resources (2000; 50) lists this work as among the best one-volume philosophical dictionaries. There are thousands of entries listed alphabetically on a wide range of philosophers and topics. Widener: RR 4093.29
The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Don Borchert, ed. 2nd edition. 10 vols., 2006.
The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, although largely superseded by the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, is still valuable for looking up background and introductory material on a philosopher or philosophical topic. Widener: RR4903.4; Robbins: B41.E5
International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences (IESBS)
The IESBS aims to be the most comprehensive and up-to-date resource covering a variety of topics in the social and behavioral sciences. It covers a wide variety of topics in the areas of mind, cognition, perception, and the like that are relevant to philosophy. The material contained in the IESBS tends to reflect current trends and research in the social sciences. However, this sometimes means that articles carry a certain bias or slant towards the more favored current theories, and may not treat a topic as fully or as objectively as might be expected. Nevertheless, IESBS articles are signed, dated, updated often, and contain references and links to further resources. The user can retrieve articles by summary, HTML full-text, and in PDF format.
This site is devoted to Islamic philosophy, and presents many full-text books, articles, and other resources for those interested in researching this field.
Meta-Encyclopedia of Philosophy
This site compares the treatment of subjects and topics in six philosophy encyclopedias on the Internet. In other words, it lists subjects and topics alphabetically, and marks on a grid if and where various Internet philosophy encyclopedias cover these. There is no indication as to when or how often the site owner updates the information.
The Perseus Digital Library is one of the premier sites to find texts from and resources for doing research in the Classical era. In addition to primary texts, users will find dictionaries, commentaries, maps, and art.
The Philosophical Lexicon is a humorous dictionary of “philosophical” terms. (Please note that this dictionary is for entertainment purposes only!)
This site provides information about and links to resources on the figures and thought of Pragmatism.
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. General Editor, Edward Craig. Routledge Keegan Paul, 1998. Ten volumes.
This encyclopedia is the print successor to the Encyclopedia of Philosophy, listed above. The work gives alphabetical entries about philosophers and topics, with commentary and bibliographies. Widener: RR 4903.45; Robbins: Reference Section, B51.R68 1998
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is an electronic encyclopedia of philosophy, with entries on philosophers and philosophical topics written by prominent scholars in the field. Entries are signed and dated, and include bibliographies, Internet resources (where applicable), and cross-references to related entries.
Directories & Guides
The Cambridge Companions. Cambridge University Press.
Cambridge University Press puts out a series called The Cambridge Companions. There are a number of these devoted to specific philosophers across the span of the tradition, from the ancients, such as Plato and Aristotle, to medieval philosophers, like Aquinas and Augustine, to modern thinkers, such as Kant and Kierkegaard, to contemporary figures, such as Foucault and Rawls. Experts and scholars who study each figure generally contribute an essay discussing some aspect of that particular philosopher's work. The Cambridge Companions are good places for introductory essays and bibliographies about a philosopher's work. You can find a complete listing of Harvard's holdings by using HOLLIS.
This is a guide for navigating the Library of Congress (LC) classification system for philosophy print resources.
A History of Philosophy. F.C. Copleston, SJ. Nine volumes. Search Press, 1946-present.
Copleston's History of Philosophy is a well-regarded older introduction to philosophers and philosophical topics, especially its section on Kant. Copleston's articles provide introductions, commentaries, and bibliographies. Widener: B72.C67 1946x; Robbins: B72.C62 1946x.
A History of Western Philosophy . W.T. Jones. Five volumes. Harcourt Brace Jovanovitch, 1969-1975.
Jones' five-volume survey of Western philosophy from the Pre-Socratics to the mid-twentieth century is a good overview to the subject Widener:B72.J652x 1969b
The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Ted Honderich, editor. Oxford University Press, 1995.
This book is a single-volume dictionary of philosophy. There are roughly 2,000 entries, with maps, a chronology, an index, and short bibliographies. Widener: RR 4903.35; Oxford Reference Online, under "Reference, Religion & Philosophy."
Philosophy: a guide to the reference literature. Hans E. Bynagle. Libraries Unlimited, 2006.
Bynagle provides a one-volume guide to major print, Internet, and electronic resources in philosophy. The work is aimed at a broad audience, from generalists with little to no background in the discipline to specialists. Bynagle gives a general overview of the available secondary and reference sources. Entries are listed by subject, which are then further broken down into region, school, language, topic, philosopher, and time period; cross-references are provided. Robbins Philos. Library B72.299 B96 2006x Widener RR 4901.38
Jim Pryor's Guide to Reading Philosophy
For novice students of philosophy, Jim Pryor provides useful tips on how to read a philosophical text. Pryor offers a
three-part outline to guide the reader through the process of reading and evaluating philosophical works.
Jim Pryor's Guide to Writing a Philosophy Paper
Carla Bagnoli's How to Write a Philosophy Paper
For those who are new to philosophy, and are unsure about how to approach writing a philosophy paper, Jim Pryor and Carla
Bagnoli offer guides on how this is done. Each guide outlines what is expected in a philosophy paper, how to structure
the paper, the need for revisions and drafts, and how to avoid some of the most common grading issues.
Internet Philosophy Directories
- Google Philosophy Directory
- Open Directory Project: Philosophy
- Philosophy Resources on the Net
- Voice of the Shuttle (VoS)
- Yahoo! Directory, Philosophy
Electronic Texts
In this section, you will find listings for individual journals, as opposed to the database collections of journals in the previous section. There are also listings of directories of individual research papers from several sources.
At Harvard
To search for electronic journals that are currently available at Harvard that are relevant to research on the topics of philosophy and religion, please consult the E-Research Find E-Journals page.
18th Century Collections Online
The database, 18th Century Collections Online, holds digital images of over over a hundred thousand eighteenth century texts from a variety of disciplines and authors. Relevant philosophy-related texts include those by Berkeley, Hume, and Kant.
Cambridge Wittgenstein Archive
The Cambridge Wittgenstein Archive provides online access to electronic facsimiles of the works of Wittgenstein in their collection. The amount of materials that are currently available online is limited, and there is only a sample of the work, not the complete work in question. Most of the material provided is bibliographic in nature. The site is available in both English and in German.
PastMasters provides complete electronic texts of the primary texts, published and unpublished, of major philosophers, such as Ayer, Descartes, Kant, and Wittgenstein. PastMasters provides these works in the original language and in translation. Many of PastMasters' translations and texts are older ones found in the public domain, i.e., those that fall outside the limits of copyright. While the database does appear, at first, to be a bit overwhelming, it does offer clear instructions on how to use its search functionality. Click on the red “i” icon for more information.
Online Papers
Diotima: Materials for the Study of Women and Gender in the Ancient World
Named for the woman who instructed Socrates on love in the Symposium, Diotima promotes the cross-disciplinary study of gender in the ancient Greco-Roman world. There are free peer-reviewed articles, images, bibliographies, anthologies of primary sources, and other information that may be of use to those interested in gender studies and/or classical thought.
The Philosopher's Imprint is a free online philosophy journal that presents research in the analytic tradition.
PhOnline provides a listing of papers and Web sites of philosophers from academic institutions around the country.
People with Online Papers in Philosophy
David Chalmers provides a list of online papers in philosophy. The links take the reader to the home pages of the various authors in question, at which they can access the papers. The site lists papers under the topics of consciousness, perception, content, mind, artificial intelligence (AI), cognitive science (cogsci), language, linguistics, metaphysics, epistemology, physics, biology, science, logic, math, religion, ethics, social/political, applied ethics, aesthetics, ancient/medieval, 17th & 18th centuries, 19th & 20th centuries, cognitive scientists, and “other.”
Tanner Lectures on Human Values
The Tanner Lectures on Human Values are an annual series of discussions on human values from scientific and educational perspectives. The site lists the times, locations, and topics for upcoming lectures. It also provides PDF versions of previous lectures (back to the late 1970s) that can be downloaded and read without cost.
Library Catalogs
The European Library provides access to the catalogs and collections of the national libraries of European nations, such as the British Library, the Bibliothèque nationale, the Deutsche Bibliothek, and 40 other European libraries. Users can get an overview of the collections, as well browse through the catalogs of the respective libraries.
University of Karlsruhe, Union Catalog Search allows you to search the union catalogs of universities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and several other nations. Additionally, it allows you to search book dealers, such as Amazon.com Germany, Abebooks, and the like.
WorldCat is a union catalog of 47 million records from the catalogs of 41,000 libraries in the US and 82 other countries. WorldCat lists media as diverse as books, film, and audio recordings, among others. WorldCat is useful for ascertaining whether libraries outside of Harvard hold certain books and materials, which may then be obtained through interlibrary loan. (You will need a PIN and Harvard ID to access this database from a home computer.)
Other (General Reference)
These resources, while not specifically philosophical, may be of use for general reference purposes.
Bartleby.com provides free online access to a wealth of literature and reference sources. These include such works as The Columbia Encyclopedia, The American Heritage College Dictionary, Bartlett's Quotations, and a host of poetry, non-fiction, and literature. All of these resources are available in full-text for free, but are generally older versions that are in the public domain, i.e., beyond the limits of copyright.
Librarian's Internet Index (LII)
The LII is a project by librarians in California to provide a Web directory of online resources across a wide range of topics. The LII is a good place to start when looking for a directory of reviewed and rated sites. The only drawback is that there is a bias towards all things Californian in the choice and selection of materials.
SearchEngineWatch.com has been around since the beginnings of the Internet. It provides ratings, tips, evaluations, and other tools to help Web users find and utilize the search engines most suited to their information needs. The site has a nice directory of specialized search engines (especially searching the "deep" and "invisible" Web), and is updated frequently. Most of the site is free, although there is a subscription section for those interested in learning more.
Associations & Organizations
American Philosophical Association (APA)
The APA is the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. You can find information on its annual meetings, Jobs for Philosophers, and other useful information on this site.
Association for Symbolic Logic (ASL)
The Association for Symbolic Logic is dedicated to promoting and supporting research and critical studies in logic.
FISP sponsors the World Congresses in Philosophy, held every five years. It is the highest non-governmental organization in the world for philosophy, and aims to foster collaboration and dialog between individual philosophers, as well as academic departments and other philosophical institutions.