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General Philosophy Guide

This guide is designed to help students locate resources related to philosophy.

Finding Background Information

Examples of some of the reference books we have in the library that are related to philosophy are listed to the left. Ebooks are listed to the right.
 

Check out the library's catalog or our ebook collection to find more reference and background resources on philosophy. You can also try searching for a specific topic related to philosophy, but often books that contain background information are broad. Remember this when choosing search terms.
 

Some subject terms in our ebook collection you can search by:

  • PHILOSPHY / Reference
  • PHILOSOPHY / Essays
  • Philosophy and social sciences -- Encyclopedias
  • Analysis (Philosophy)
  • Reference (Philosophy)
  • Philosophy, Modern -- Dictionaries

Also try searching keywords related to broad concepts or philosophical ideas, such as:

  • Relativism
  • Continental philosophy
  • Epistemology
  • American philosophers
  • Aristotellianism
  • pre-Socratics
  • Medieval philosophy
  • Solipsism
  • Epicurean ethics
  • Political philosophy


If you need some more ideas, you can always talk with your professor or a librarian.

Reference Books and eBooks

What are Reference Books?

Reference books are designed for accessing specific facts or information and can take many different forms, such as:

  • Indexes
  • Dictionaries
  • Encyclopedias
  • Bibliographies
  • Almanacs
  • Directories
  • Handbooks

In other words, reference books can provide you with great background information. 

Reference books at the HJF Learning Center are located in their own section on the second floor. You will know if a book is considered to be reference by its call number. All reference book call numbers begin with an "R."

Reference books may be used within the library only. They cannot be borrowed or taken out of the library. You may also copy pages or information you need from a reference book.

You can also search for reference information here: