LibGuides: Philosophy: Books and eBooks

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"Mademoiselle Ferrand meditating on Newton" by Maurice Quentin de la Tour is licenced under Cc-BY-SA

Books and eBooks

Learn where to discover philosophy books relevant to your studies.

Finding books on library search

You can find books on Library Search by using bibliographic details, for example Russell and Problems of Philosophy.
You can discover books on Library Search by using key terms like Descartes and dualism.

Select the 'Book' filter on the left-hand side of the page. You can use the 'eBook' filter if you'd like to limit your search to online books.

Encyclopedias for philosophy

Encyclopedias are a great starting point for research, or to gain background information for a new topic. They have useful philosophical topics and bibliographies. They are updated regularly by philosophers and contain bibliographies for more in-depth information.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
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High quality and extensive articles, with useful bibliographies, that are regularly updated.

Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy Online (REP Online) This link opens in a new window Regularly updated with new and revised articles, REP Online is the ideal entry point for further discovery and research, clearly organised and with over 25,000 cross-references linking themes, concepts and philosophers.
Regularly updated with new and revised articles, REP Online is the ideal entry point for further discovery and research, clearly organised and with over 25,000 cross-references linking themes, concepts and philosophers.

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
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A dynamic reference work, with each entry maintained and kept up to date by an expert or group of experts in the field.

Oxford Bibliographies Online This link opens in a new window Authoritative guides to scholarship on a wide range of subjects, written and reviewed by leading academic experts.
Authoritative guides to scholarship on a wide range of subjects, written and reviewed by leading academic experts.

eBook collections

Library Search is your first choice for finding books. Below is just a small selection of ebook packages, chosen to highlight the sections related to your subject area. Whilst you will find these through Library Search, you can also search the collections directly at the links below. These include materials in:

Reference books - these are written by philosophers for student audiences and are useful starting points for a topic that's new to you. They situate thinkers and their ideas in their historical and philosophical contexts.
Handbooks and 'companions' - these collect articles by experts that give extended treatment of specific topics, concepts and ideas in philosophy.
Specialised monographs - these in-depth, scholarly books are useful for further research once you have grasped the basics.

Cambridge Companions Online This link opens in a new window Cambridge Companions are a series of authoritative guides, written by leading experts, offering lively, accessible introductions to major writers, artists, philosophers, topics, and periods.
Cambridge Companions are a series of authoritative guides, written by leading experts, offering lively, accessible introductions to major writers, artists, philosophers, topics, and periods.

Databases with primary philosophical texts

Library Search is your first choice for finding texts. Below is just a selection of packages with primary philosophical texts. Whilst you will find these through Library Search, you can also search the collections directly at the links and browse to see the range of materials.

Early English Books Online (EEBO) This link opens in a new window
Early English Books Online (EEBO) contains page images of every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473–1700.
Oxford Scholarly Editions Online (OSEO) This link opens in a new window
Collection of primary material that ranges across a wide variety of subject areas, from philosophy, literature, and theology, to economics, linguistics, and medicine.
Loeb Classical Library This link opens in a new window Searchable database of Greek and Latin texts with English translations.
Searchable database of Greek and Latin texts with English translations.
Thesaurus Linguae Graecae This link opens in a new window
Collection of texts written in Greek from Homer’s time to AD 1453. Please note: users are required to create a user profile. To do so: Click on "Full Corpus". Then click on 'New user? Register' link on the top right of the next screen. Follow instructions.
Project Vox This link opens in a new window
Project Vox concerns an important, relatively recent, scholarly development in philosophy: the acknowledgement that a number of early modern women have been unjustly ignored in our narratives of the history of philosophy. From Mary Astell, Lady Masham, Margaret Cavendish and Anne Conway in England to Émilie Du Châtelet in France, many women played significant roles in the development of modern philosophy, but their contributions have often gone unnoticed. The website has three primary goals. First, it seeks to provide students at all levels with the materials they need to begin exploring the rich philosophical ideas of Astell, Cavendish, Conway, Du Châtelet and Masham. Second, it aims to provide teachers with the material they need to incorporate these figures into their courses. Third and finally, it aims to help transform our current conception of the canon.

Free online eBook collections

ACLS Humanities E-Book This link opens in a new window Providing online access to over 5,000 core humanities titles chosen by scholars, the ACLS Humanities E-Book Collection supports remote research and learning worldwide.
Providing online access to over 5,000 core humanities titles chosen by scholars, the ACLS Humanities E-Book Collection supports remote research and learning worldwide.
Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) This link opens in a new window
Academic open access books from hundreds of participating Publishers.