Notes, References, and Suggested Reading

As noted on the main page of this site, none of the information included here is from original research; all of it comes directly from other sources. My goal was simply to take existing information on the subject and present it in a summarized outline format for easy reference and review. For this reason, I feel it is very important to give credit to the original authors and sources. See References below for details.

My purpose for creating this web site was twofold:

1. I got interested in the subject about a year ago and started reading. While referring to various sources, jumping from one to another, I took notes along the way to try and keep certain themes, individuals, and terms organized. Before long I found myself compiling a summary outline, and I decided to see it through to the end, just so I'd have something to refer back to when needed.
2. My second goal was to create a web site so that others could benefit from my work. I believe the web is the best resource in the world, for almost any subject; and I decided it was time to make a contribution. This was my first web site project, and it was very satisfying to complete.

You may note after reviewing the subject, that the History of Western Philosophy is essentially a history about a bunch of white males (with the exception of a few Arabs during the Middle Ages). With rare exception, women are excluded; and, by definition, so is Eastern Philosophy. It was not my intent to make a value statement here; it was simply a matter of history and scope.

For a good introduction on women in philosophy, and also Eastern Philosophy, refer to Solomon and Higgins (in the Suggested Reading section below).

References:

The lion's share of information included here comes from Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2000. © 1993-1999 Microsoft Corporation. This encyclopedia is an excellent general source for most topics. I borrowed from it liberally.

Some material was pulled from Britannica 2001 Standard Edition CD-ROM, 1994-2000, Copyright © 1994-2001 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

I also referred to the four books listed below in the Suggested Reading section.

Some material was pulled from other web sites. Although I browsed many, I borrowed from few. Those deserving special mention are the following:

Philosophy Pages . . . from Garth Kemerling: This site not only has a lot of good material, it has a lot of great links to other sites; and it’s very well organized and easy to navigate.

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, James Fieser, Ph.D., general editor. Very useful and well organized; includes a timeline in outline format, and search capability. Articles are thorough.

John Burnet's "Early Greek Philosophy": This site is essentially Pre-Socratic, but it’s excellent nonetheless.

Suggested Reading:

A Short History of Philosophy, by Robert Solomon and Kathleen Higgins. This is, hands down, the best introduction to the History of Philosophy. It is thorough, insightful, and entertaining. Best of all, it is highly readable.

A History of Western Philosophy, by Bertrand Russell. If you like history with your history of philosophy, this is a great book. Russell is always a good read.

The Columbia History of Western Philosophy, Richard Henry Popkin (Editor). This is a great reference book; it’s up to date, thorough, and offers many new insights to a mature subject. But it’s not the best place to start your education. Most of this book requires a working knowledge of the subject. If your looking for a good introduction, start with Solomon and Higgins. This one’s for the advanced reader.

Story of Philosophy, by Will Durant. Not the best book on the subject, simply because of its limited scope. Durant limits his coverage of the subject to specific philosophers; the ones included are not always those usually identified as the eminent philosophers in most conventional texts. Nevertheless, Durant is without peer in style and interpretation, and is always a joy to read.

Refer to Amazon.com for a lot of good information on these books.

For web sites, start with Yahoo and go from there. There's simply too many good ones out there to mention and Yahoo is well organized.

http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/Philosophy/

http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/Philosophy/History_of_Philosophy/