Philosophy
Legend
- McGill users only
- Open access resource
- Free resource
- In-library-use only
- Catalogue record
Sources for Background Information
Dictionaries, Encyclopedias
- Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- New Dictionary of the History of Ideas
- Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
- Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy
- Bloomsbury Guide to Human Thought
- Dictionary of Philosophy (Macmillan)
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (In progress)
(Accessible to anyone with an Internet connection.)
Searching the Library Catalogue
Use the basic word(s) anywhere or advanced keyword search in the library catalogue. You can search using words like - phenomenology, phenomenol?, philosoph?, etc.
Search tips
| Truncation symbol: | ? | e.g. philosoph? will retrieve catalogue records containing the words philosophy, philosophical, philosophie, philosophisch, etc. |
| Phrase searching: | "___" | e.g. "scottish enlightenment" will retrieve catalogue records containing the phrase scottish enlightenment |
| Boolean operators: | (), AND, OR, NOT default: AND |
e.g. hume AND (realism OR "scottish enlightenment") will retrieve catalogue records containing the word hume AND either realism OR the phrase scottish enlightenment |
Core and Additional Databases
Periodical indexes for Philosophy and closely-related disciplines. These indexes enable the researcher to find articles, books, conference proceedings and articles in collections by subject or author. All databases have an "advanced search" option where multiple terms can be combined in various ways. The "FindIt" button will take you to the electronic version of the article if there is one and if the Library subscribes to it. The McGill Library currently subscribes to something over 30,000 electronic journals. Click on "Info?" for a detailed description of the database contents and coverage.
- Philosopher's Index, coverage 1940- Info?
- International Philosophical Bibliography/Répertoire bibliographique de la philosophie , coverage is in two files: IPB current (1997+) and IPB retrospective (pre-1996). The retrospective file is extending back in time. Info? This index works best with Firefox. The e-mail and password are only necessary if you want to save your searches.
- Année philologique (Classical Antiquity), coverage 1924-2007 Info?
- BHInet (British Humanities Index), coverage 1962- Info?
- FRANCIS, coverage 1984- Info?
- Philosophy Compass publishes survey articles discussing the recent developments is specific areas of philosophy such as "Epistemology," "Logic" or "Philosophy of Science." Info?
Very large, multi-subject periodical indexes. There is a lot of philosophical content in these databases and very many full-text files of journal articles. Years of coverage vary greatly.
- WilsonWeb OmniFile Full Text Mega, coverage mainly 1984-
For retrospective coverage 1907-1984, go to WilsonWeb, open the database selection area and select "Humanities and Social Sciences Index Retro." To search thousands of collections of essays, open the database selection area and select "Essay and General Literature Index." All three databases can be combined in the same search. - ProQuest Research Library - (Years of coverage vary)
- Academic Search Premier (EBSCO) - (Years of coverage vary)
- Expanded Academic ASAP (Gale) - (Years of coverage vary)
Full-text journal resources. The following are very large files of important journals.
- Philosophy Online Serials (formerly Poiesis, contains the full-text of many important philosophy journals. McGill subscribes to just under half of the titles. If you click on the "Search" button, an advanced search form will appear. These journals should be indexed in Philosopher's Index and International Philosophical Bibliography, above.
- JSTOR is a retrospective archive of important journals including many titles of interest to students of philosophy. As part of its mandate, JSTOR does not compete with publishers and the files are only added after a delay of three to five years. Hence the most recent scholarship is usually absent from JSTOR files. These journals should be indexed in Philosopher's Index and International Philosophical Bibliography, above.
Selected Internet Sites
Accessible to anyone with an Internet connection.
- Noesis is a limited area search engine for open access, academic philosophy on the Internet. It functions much like Google, but is limited to scholarly resources. (Accessible to anyone with an Internet connection.)
- Internet Philosopher Virtual Training Suite
A tutorial on using the internet to find philosophy resources. - Voice of the Shuttle: Philosophy Page Maintained by the University of California, Santa Barbara.
- Guide to Philosophy on the Internet
Compiled by Peter Suber, Philosophy Department, Earlham College. Not updated after 2003. Continued by EpistemeLinks.com - Philosophy @ Large
Maintained the Department of Philosophy of Liverpool University. - The Window: Philosophy on the Internet Hosted by Trinity College, Hartford CT.
- Continental Philosophy Maintained by Prof. Bruce B. Janz, University of Central Florida.
- Society for Women in Philosophy
Other Resources
Related Subject Guides
Feedback?
If you have any comments about the Library or suggestions of how we could do things better, please let us know.
If you have any comments about the Library or suggestions of how we could do things better, please let us know.