The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy

Excellent. Covers everything anyone needs to know in the field of Philosophy.

Superb! If you are a philosophy student, trust me, it is "the" book that you have been looking for!​

This dictionary is a very valuable academic source. It has definitions of main philosophical terms from the different philosophers or schools and at the end each word it directs you to other words related. It can be tricky at the beginning, if you must, but it is very easy once you give it a chance. As stated before, it is a must if you are doing research or studying philosophy.

I'd start by saying: that this is an excellent dictionary. Even in this day and age, it is nice to have a good thorough reference to hand. It's not something to carry around with you, but if you read a lot of philosophy it great to just reach over and find out what some random word means, and mostly it serves that purpose. However this is where the "dictionary that wants to be an encyclopedia" comes in. It relies on too many summarized long entries. e.g. "concept. SEE CONCEPTUALISM" or "constructive empiricism. see SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM", then then when you go to "social constructivism" it is a long entry a over 2 pages, and doesn't actually mention constructivism, or if it does, its buried on the second page. I mean, if I wanted to read 2 pages of description to get a definition, I would go to an online philosophy encyclopedia. I can see the problem for a dictionary of this nature, the definition can only be understood in the context of the wider topic. Strict dictionary style "word: definition" would have a lot of repetition and probably have to reference the main topic anyway. However the balance went too far towards just saying: "read the main topic, then you will understand this specific word". There are many pages of definitions where they are just pointers to a generalized topic.

As an advanced level philosophy student i have found this dictionary not only to be all encompassing but also to explain with the simplicity required of writers in philosophy. The book covers an immense spectrum of philosophical perspectives and does not require a Ph.D to understand. All praise be to Robert Audi and the compilers.

A very impressive tome that handells every thing most people could want to know. vwery easy to use as it literlly is a dictionary. best as a reference tool in combination with more area specific text books

Marvellous book covering the best of philosophy.

This is a great book. I use it all of the time. I have it sitting by my couch to reference whilst I'm reading philosophy books. I've majored in philosophy (35 years ago) but still can't get enough reference. It seems to have everything I need. I find myself getting off of the subject I'm reading and heading onto "other branches of the tree". I just found out that a student at Univ. of Washington was told to buy this book for his political philosophy book. That doesn't surprise me. I checked out a few of these types of books from the library to see which one was best and I picked this one. You can't go wrong.

The quality of the paperback version is horrific. It fell after about 3 months of not-even-daily use. The entries seem adequate, but I prefer The Oxford Companion to Philosophy (New Edition).

Cette 2ème édition du Dictionnaire de philosophie de Cambridge nous offre un contenu très complet (auteurs, écoles, concepts, vocabulaire général... ) et une grande clarté de présentation. Nous y retrouvons toutes les composantes de la philosophie Ancienne et contemporaine: logique, métaphysique, morale, religions, philosophie politique, philosophie des sciences et épistémologie, les philosophies analytique, du langage, de l'esprit... Apparaissent les références pour les pays européens ainsi que pour l'Afrique, l'Amérique et l'Asie. Il s'agit donc d'un très bon instrument de travail pour acquérir ou réviser des connaissances. A signaler deux autres excellents dictionnaires: "The Oxford Companion to Philosophy" et "The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy".

Came as advertised. Thanks

I lack training in philosophy but often read nonfiction criticism that requires a bit of philosophical background. This book provides that background without sending my tired eyes to the much longer entries in the eight volume _Encyclopedia of Philosophy_. From the Dictionary's depth and breadth of concise entries, with references to related and equally concise entires, I can usually learn enough to answer my immediate question. The entries also point me to where I should dig if I want deeper background. This Dictionary now permanently resides beside my reading chair.