Harvard University

Department of Philosophy

Secondary Sources in Philosophy

These are some of the better secondary sources about philosophy and philosophical practice. The secondary literature on philosophy, its figures, periods, topics, and problems is vast; thus, this list makes no claims to be exhaustive or exclusive.

Those desiring a more in-depth bibliography should contact Jason Pannone, Librarian.

Companions | Dictionaries & Encyclopedias | Histories
Philosophical Practice

Companions

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Blackburn, S. (1996). The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Harvard ID and PIN required to access.)
The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy. (1999). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2006). 10 volumes. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA.
Routledge (Firm). (1998). Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 8 volumes. London: Routledge.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Histories of Philosophy

The works listed below are some of the many histories of philosophy that exist. It is generally a good practice to read several histories in conjunction with each other, in order to get the fullest picture of a period. As with any bit of research: read critically and be wary of biases and generalizations. Caveat lector.

General Histories

Russell, B. (2004). A History of Western Philosophy. New York: Routledge.
Fakhry, M. (2004). A History of Islamic Philosophy. (3rd Ed.) New York: Columbia University Press.

Ancient Philosophy

Armstrong, A.H. (Ed.). (2007). Cambridge History of Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Brunschvig, J. and Lloyd, G.E.R. (Eds.). (2000.) Greek Thought: A Guide to Classical Knowledge. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Johansen, K. F. (1998). A History of Ancient Philosophy: From the Beginnings to St. Augustine. New York: Routledge.
Kenny, A. (2006). Ancient Philosophy: A New History of Western Philosophy, Volume 1. New York: Oxford University Press.

Medieval Philosophy

Armstrong, A.H. (Ed.). (2007). Cambridge History of Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Husik, I. (1974). A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy. New York: Atheneum.
Ierodiakonou, K. (Ed.) (2002). Byzantine Philosophy and Its Ancient Sources. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kenny, A. (2005). Medieval Philosophy: A New History of Western Philosophy, Volume 2. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kretzmann, N., Kenny, A., Pinborg, J., Stump, E. (Eds.). (1982). Cambridge History of Later Medieval Philosophy: From the Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Disintegration of Scholasticism, 1100-1600. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Maurer, A. (1982). Medieval Philosophy. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies.

Early Modern Philosophy

Garber, D. and Ayers, M. (1998). Cambridge History of Seventeenth-century Philosophy. 2 volumes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Haakonssen, K. (2006). Cambridge History of Eighteenth-century Philosophy. 2 volumes. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kenny, A. (2006). The Rise of Modern Philosophy: A New History of Western Philosophy, Volume 3. New York: Oxford University Press.

Contemporary Philosophy

Baldwin, T. (Ed.) (2003). Cambridge History of Philosophy, 1870-1945. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Friedman, M. (2000). A Parting of the Ways: Carnap, Cassirer, and Heidegger. Peru, IL: Open Court Press.
Kenny, A. (2007). Philosophy in the Modern World: A New History of Western Philosophy, Volume 4. New York: Oxford University Press.
Soames, S. (2003). Philosophical Analysis in the Twentieth Century. 2 volumes. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

American Philosophy

Campbell, J. (2006). A Thoughtful Profession: The Early Years of the American Philosophical Association. Chicago: Open Court.
McCumber, J. (2001). Time in the Ditch: American Philosophy and the McCarthy Era. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
Menand, L. (2002). The Metaphysical Club. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
Reisch, G. (2005). How the Cold War Transformed Philosophy of Science: To the Icy Slopes of Logic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Philosophical Practice

Each of these texts gives a perspective on the practice of philosophy. In perusing these, readers will soon note that there are many ways to understand the nature of philosophical practice, not all of which are in agreement with each other.

Beyer, C. and Burri, A. (Eds.) (2007). Philosophical Knowledge -- Its Possibility and Scope. New York: Rodopi.
Glock, H-J. (2008). What is Analytic Philosophy? New York: Cambridge University Press.
Hadot, P. (1995). Philosophy as a Way of Life. New York: Wiley-Blackwell.
Haldane, J. (1999/2004). Thomism and the Future of Catholic Philosophy. In Haldane, J. (2004). Faithful Reason: Essays Catholic and Philosophical. New York: Routledge: 3-13.
Haldane, J. (2001/2004). The Diversity of Philosophy and the Unity of its Vocation: Some Philosophical Reflections on Fides et Ratio. In Haldane, J. (2004). Faithful Reason: Essays Catholic and Philosophical. New York: Routledge: 31-41.
Hankey, W. (2006.) 9/11 and the History of Philosophy. Animus 11.
Hare, P. (Ed.) (1988). Doing Philosophy Historically. Buffalo: Prometheus Books.
Kaufman, D.A. (2006). Knowledge, Wisdom and the Philosopher. Philosophy 81(1): 129-151. (Harvard ID and PIN required to access article.)
Leiter, B. (2004). The Future for Philosophy. New York: Oxford University Press.
Leiter, B. (2006). Analytic and Continental Philosophy. The Philosophical Gourmet Report.
McCann, H. (2003). Philosophy in America at the Turn of the Century. Charlottesville, VA: Philosophy Documentation Center.
Nehamas, A. (2000). The Art of Living: Socratic Reflections from Plato to Foucault. Berkeley: University of California Press.
O'Hear, A. (2001a). Philosophy at the New Millennium [Supplement]. Philosophy: Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplement 48.
O'Hear, A. (2001b). Editorial: What Philosophy Is. Philosophy 76(1): 1-2 (Harvard PIN and ID required to access article.)
Peperzak, A.T. (2006). Thinking: From Solitude to Dialogue and Contemplation. New York: Fordham University Press.
Pieper, J. (2007). For Love of Wisdom: Essays on the Nature of Philosophy. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
Putnam, H. (1997). A Half Century of Philosophy, Viewed From Within. Daedalus 126(1) [Winter 1997]: 175-208. (Harvard ID and PIN required to access article.)
Quine, W.V.O. (1979/1981). Has Philosophy Lost Contact with People? In Quine, W.V.O. (1981). Theories and Things. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press: 190-193.
Rorty, A.O. (2008). The Dramatic Sources of Philosophy. Philosophy and Literature 32(1): 11-30. (Harvard ID and PIN required to access article.)
Sallis, J. (2007). The Verge of Philosophy. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Striker, G. (1999). Why Study the History of Philosophy? Harvard Review of Philosophy, 7: 15-18.
Williams, B. (2000). Philosophy as a Humanistic Discipline. Philosophy, 75(4): 477-496. (Harvard ID and PIN required to access article.)
Williamson, T. (2007). The Philosophy of Philosophy. New York: Blackwell.