LibGuides: Philosophy: Background Information

About Background Information Resources

Finding background information at the beginning of your research is important if you are not an expert in the subject area or not sure from what angle to approach your topic. Background information can provide:

A broad overview of the subject
Introduction to key issues
Names of people who are authorities in the subject field
Keywords and subject-specific vocabulary terms that can be used for database searches
Bibliographies that lead to additional resources

Spend a little time searching in the resources on this page and you'll be better prepared to find pertinent scholarly articles and write a convincing argument.

Background Information: Philosophy

Online Reference Databases:

Oxford Bibliographies This link opens in a new window
Subjects: Philosophy, Ethics, Biblical Studies
Description: Research database containing full text. Written 2010-present, these are guides to scholarly works on a topic. Each consists of overview paragraphs and annotated bibliographies.
Contents: Bibliographies
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Oxford Handbooks Online This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Subjects: MANY
Description: General e-book collection containing full text. Focuses on Humanities, Social Sciences, and Business disciplines.
Contents: Book Chapters; E-books
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Cambridge Companions to Philosophy, Religion and Culture This link opens in a new window
Subjects: Philosophy, Theological Studies, Catholic Studies, Ethics
Description: E-book collection containing full text. Mainly focused on North America and Europe. Scholarly essays that provide overviews and references to major sources on a topic.
Contents: Book Chapters; E-books
More info

Reference Books:

Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Print)
Call Number: REF B51 .R68 1998
Publication Date: 1998
Access E-book
MacMillan Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Print)
Call Number: REF B51 .E53 2006
Publication Date: 2006
Access E-book

More philosophy reference books
LMU has many more specialized books with background information on philosophy. Follow this link to start a pre-limited search in the library catalog.

Open Web:

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
A cooperative, non-profit venture to create a freely available scholarly encyclopedia of philosophy. It has filled out nicely over the years.
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Useful, clear articles for undergraduate level philosophy, including synopses and lists for further reading. Cross-indexing is largely absent, so you have to know, alphabetically, what terms/names/articles you are looking for; then find with the alphabetical links, or do a Google-like search for your terms.