Philosophy: Books

The following ebook collections include many books you may find useful in studying English. All the books they contain may also be found in the library catalog and LEO Search.

The basic Library Catalog search is a keyword search--you simply type your search terms into the box, and the catalog retrieves all the items that have your search terms in their catalog records.

Searching by subject is another way to find materials that focus on your topic. Each item in the Library Catalog has one or more subject terms (headings) assigned to it, When you search by subject, you retrieve only the items that have the subject for which you searched. To make a subject heading more specific, subheadings are added after it. A subheading is separated from the main heading by a double dash (--). 

Aesthetics

Consciousness

Ethics

Extisentialism

Humanism

Logic

Metaphysics

Philosophers

Philosophy

Theory (philosophy)

Truth

Search by Philosopher

Materials that focus on a specific philosopher will include his or her name in the subject headings. For ancient philosophers, typically only the name is given:

Aristotle

Plato

For philosophers of more recent times, the subject headings will include dates of birth and death:

Descartes, René, 1596-1650 

Do not worry about finding the birth and death dates for the philosopher you are researching; in most cases, just doing a subject search for the name of the philosopher should work.

Search by Nation/Region

Materials that focus on the philosophies of a particular nation/region are given subject headings that indicate that. This is a common structure used (replace Greek with the nationality you are researching):

Philosophy, Greek

Once you have your subject terms, to search by subject in the Library Catalog, in the dropdown list under "Search for," select "Subject." 

To find subject headings for a subject you are studying, first use keyword searching to find some books on your general topic. Then look at their records and see what subject terms they have. You can use the subject links in the catalog records to retrieve all the items with the same subject. However, this linking scheme has some quirks, so if it seems like it is returning far too many (or too few) items, try using the Library Catalog (aka Advanced Search) screen and a Subject or Subject Phrase search with your terms.

If you want to browse the library stacks, you can use these call numbers to find books on philosophy:

B Philosophy (General)

BC Logic

BD Speculative Philosophy

BE Aesthetics

BJ Ethics

These books can be found on the first floor of the library stacks. Remember that given the interdisciplinary nature of liberal arts studies, you may find useful books with other call numbers too. 

To find books from thousands of other libraries and request them through interlibrary loan, use WorldCat FirstSearch. You can search for books, journals, audiovisual materials, dissertations, and many other material types. When you find a resource you think would be useful in your research, you can fill out an interlibrary loan form, and Nash Library will request the book from another library.