Philosophical Dictionary

Front Cover
Prometheus Books, 2003 - Philosophy - 315 pages
This lexicon of modern Western philosophical concepts, problems, principles, and theories may well be the shortest dictionary of philosophy in the English language, but one of the most useful. Organized by internationally recognized philosopher Mario Bunge, this indispensable volume, directed to general and university audiences, elucidates and evaluates many contemporary philosophical ideas from a humanist and scientifically oriented perspective.

From A to Z, most entries are brief and nontechnical in nature, highlighting useful philosophical terms rather than trendy ones. Placing emphasis on "living" philosophy, Bunge has deliberately excluded many of the archaic terms and philosophical curios of other dictionaries. He has incorporated a number of "minipapers," or longer definitions of some terms, and he critically analyzes such influential doctrines as existentialism, phenomenology, idealism, materialism, pragmatism, deontological ethics, utilitarianism, and many others. Constructive alternatives are offered to all philosophical approaches criticized.

This is a superb reference work for both students and professional philosophers.

Contents

Section 1
7
Section 2
29
Section 3
65
Section 4
81
Section 5
104
Section 6
118
Section 7
126
Section 8
134
Section 13
199
Section 14
207
Section 15
235
Section 16
239
Section 17
257
Section 18
288
Section 19
302
Section 20
306

Section 9
157
Section 10
158
Section 11
170
Section 12
190
Section 21
311
Section 22
Copyright

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About the author (2003)

Mario Bunge (Montreal, Quebec) is the Frothingham Professor of Logic and Metaphysics at McGill University, and is the author, editor, and/or translator of nearly 100 books, including The Dictionary of Philosophy and the eight-volume Treatise on Basic Philosophy.

Bibliographic information