Philosophy: Print & Web Resources

  
         Plato's Allegory of the Cave                               Bentham's Panopticon

      Begin by running a Subject search on the philosopher.  For example, a Subject search on Mill, John Stuart in the IC Library catalog retrieves--

# Titles  Headings  
34       Mill, John Stuart, 1806-1873
3         Mill, John Stuart, 1806-1873--Contributions in political science
1         Mill, John Stuart, 1806-1873--Ethics
2         Mill, John Stuart, 1806-1873--Marriage
7         Mill, John Stuart, 1806-1873. On liberty
1         Mill, John Stuart, 1806-1873--Political and social views
1         Mill, John Stuart, 1806-1873--Religion
3         Mill, John Stuart, 1806-1873. Utilitarianism

Note that general criticism is assigned no subheading.  Also note that critical studies of a single work will take the title as a subheading--separated by a period instead of double dashes.

     Since you will usually have the texts you are writing about, running an Author search might seem unnecessary.   But Author searches often uncover critical editions, letters, and wide-ranging essays that shed light on both the philosopher and the work. An Author search on Mill, John Stuart retrieves--

Autobiography of John Stuart Mill / Published from the original manuscript
Autobiography: with an appendix of hitherto unpublished speeches
Collected works
Essays on literature and society
Essays on poetry
Essays on sex equality [by] John Stuart Mill & Harriet Taylor Mill
John Mill’s boyhood visit to France; being a Journal and Notebook 
John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor, their correspondence
Mill on Bentham and Coleridge
On liberty / John Stuart Mill ; annotated text, sources and background, criticism
The Subjugation of women [electronic resource]
A system of logic, ratiocinative and inductive

     The following Subject searches in the IC Library catalog are intended to be representative and suggestive, not exhaustive.  Use them as entry points into the catalog and scan for related Headings around them.

Aesthetics
Knowledge, Theory of  [epistemology]
Ethics
Values  [axiology]
Logic
Metaphysics
Ontology

Philosophy, Confucian
Philosophy, Taoist
Sophists (Greek philosophy)
Pythagoras and Pythagorean school
Platonists
Cynics (Greek philosophy)
Hedonism
Epicureans (Greek philosophy)
Stoics
Skeptics (Greek philosophy)
Skepticism
Neoplatonism
Idealism
Realism
Nominalism
Scholasticism
Hermeneutics
Common sense
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism (New England)
Utilitarianism
Empiricism
Pragmatism
Materialism
Dialectical materialism
Philosophy, Marxist
Nihilism (Philosophy)
Existentialism
Phenomenology
Logical positivism
Analysis (Philosophy)  [analytic philosophy]
Continental philosophy
Vienna circle
Consequentialism (Ethics)
Structuralism
Poststructuralism
Feminist theory
Ordinary-language philosophy
Postmodernism

Philosophy, Jewish
Philosophy, Islamic
Philosophy, Hindu
Philosophy, Buddhist
Christianity--Philosophy

Philosophy, Ancient  [Greek & Roman]
Philosophy, Medieval
Philosophy, Renaissance
Enlightenment
Philosophy, Modern
Philosophy, Modern--20th century
Philosophy--History

Philosophy, Asian
Philosophy, Indic
Philosophy, Chinese
Philosophy, Japanese
Philosophy, African
Philosophy, English
Philosophy, French
Philosophy, French--18th century
Philosophy, French--20th century
Philosophy, Spanish
Philosophy, German--19th century
Philosophy, Russian
Philosophy, American
Philosophy, American--19th century
Philosophy, American--20th century

Art--Philosophy
History--Philosophy
Literature--Philosophy
Language and languages--Philosophy
Economics--Philosophy
Political science--Philosophy
Law--Philosophy
Biology--Philosophy
Medicine--Philosophy
Physics--Philosophy
Science--Philosophy
Mathematics--Philosophy
Anthropology--Philosophy
Education--Philosophy
Psychology--Philosophy
Sociology--Philosophy
Religion--Philosophy
Sports--Philosophy
Music--Philosophy and aesthetics

Time--Philosophy
Culture--Philosophy
Civilization--Philosophy
Technology--Philosophy
Human evolution--Philosophy
Sex--Philosophy
Democracy--Philosophy
Work--Philosophy
Leisure--Philosophy
Communication--Philosophy
Mass media--Philosophy
Popular culture--Philosophy
Motion pictures--Philosophy
Video games--Philosophy
Philosophy of mind
Philosophy of nature

Place (Philosophy)
Self (Philosophy)
Identity (Philosophical concept)
Human body (Philosophy)
Memory (Philosophy)
Emotions (Philosophy)
Meaning (Philosophy)
Perception (Philosophy)
Act (Philosophy)
Autonomy (Philosophy)
Power (Philosophy)
Justice (Philosophy)
Simplicity (Philosophy)
Complexity (Philosophy)
Individuation (Philosophy)
Universals (Philosophy)

Good and evil
Virtue
Character
Moral development
Moral education

Bioethics
Business ethics
Environmental ethics
Feminist ethics
Journalistic ethics
Medical ethics
Military ethics
Sexual ethics

Abortion--Moral and ethical aspects
Animal welfare--Moral and ethical aspects
Architecture--Moral and ethical aspects
Assisted suicide--Moral and ethical aspects
Capitalism--Moral and ethical aspects
Chocolate industry--Moral and ethical aspects
Computers--Moral and ethical aspects
Consumption (Economics)--Moral and ethical aspects
Corporations--Moral and ethical aspects
Death--Moral and ethical aspects
Decision making--Moral and ethical aspects
Economics--Moral and ethical aspects
Genetic engineering--Moral and ethical aspects
Internet--Moral and ethical aspects
Management--Moral and ethical aspects
Mass media--Moral and ethical aspects
Science--Moral and ethical aspects
Sports--Moral and ethical aspects
Technology--Moral and ethical aspects
Theater--Moral and ethical aspects
Tourism--Moral and ethical aspects
War--Moral and ethical aspects

     Any country, state, or city, past or present, will probably be available as a Subject Heading and these Subject Headings can all potentially be assigned the subheadings "Civilization" and "Intellectual life." Both these subheadings can be further subdivided by time period.  For example:

Greece--Civilization
Greece--Civilization--To 146 B.C.
Greece--Intellectual life
Athens (Greece)--Civilization
Athens (Greece)--Intellectual life
Rome--Civilization
Rome--Civilization--Greek influences
Italy--Intellectual life--1268-1559
Alexandria (Egypt)--Civilization
France--Civilization--18th century
France--Intellectual life--18th century
Paris (France)--Intellectual life--20th century
England--Intellectual life--17th century
Great Britain--Civilization--18th century
Germany--Intellectual life--19th century
China--Intellectual life
India--Civilization
United States--Intellectual life--1783-1865
United States--Civilization--1783-1865

     Countries, states, and cities also take standard subheadings such as --History (further subdivided by period), --Politics and government (further subdivided by period), --Social aspects (further subdivided by period), and --Social life and customs (further subdivided by period).

     WorldCat via FirstSearch  is a "union catalog" that allows you to search the holdings of over 10,000 libraries from accross the country and around the world. Check WorldCat to discover what the entire universe of possible resources looks like for your topic. 
     
User Advisory:

• Because this is such an enormous database you need to choose a "Limit Type to" before you begin. Most commonly you will be looking for "Books," "Visual Materials" (for example DVDs), or "Sound Recordings."
• I recommend you avoid the "Author phrase," "Title phrase," and "Subject phrase" search fields and use "Author," "Title," or "Subject" instead. The "phrase" searches must be exact and are unforgiving.
• If your topic is time-sensitive, try focusing on a recent time span under Year.
• When you find an item you want you can request an interlibrary loan by opening the WorldCat record and clicking on "ILL (order via interlibrary loan)," which you'll find toward the top of the record under "External Resources." This will connect you to Ithaca College Library interlibrary loan, where you log in using your usual Netpass name and password. Logging in opens a form where all the identifying data will have automatically been transferred from the WorldCat record. All you have to do is click "Submit."

• EpistemeLinks: Over 19,000 links to philosophy resources on the Web, broadly divided between Philosophers and Topics. Includes links to primary e-texts.

• Erratic Impact: Philosophy Research: Comprehensive and well-organized, though the visual layout is a bit "busy." "Philosophical Topics" is a good entry point.

• Voice of the Shuttle: Philosophy: Use this page for links to individual philosophers, but there are separate pages for General Philosophy Resources, Philosophical Fields, and Modern Philosophical Movements.

• Intute: Philosophy: Outstanding U.K. gateway.  Search by Keyword or use the "Browse Philosophy" links on the left.

• Philosophy Around the Web: A gateway to internet resources with searching by individual philosopher or topic and with links to relevant university departments, societies, and journals.

• Contemporary Philosophy, Critical Theory, and Postmodern Thought: Gateway to Web resources on postmodernism and associated thinkers, kept nicely current.

• Ethics Updates: Gateway to resources for both ethical theory and applied ethics.

• Guide to Philosophy on the Internet:  This site hasn't been updated since '03, but enough links remain live to make it useful.

• World Values Survey: Political, social, and cultural data on the values and beliefs of over 80 societies worldwide--including the United States--since 1981. A great site, but it can be a challenge to navigate.  To get started try my World Values Survey: User Guide.

• American Philosophical Association:  Web site of the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. Information on the profession, conferences, department Web sites, and online resources.

• Ithaca College Department of Philosophy and Religion

MLA is the citation style used by most disciplines in the Humanities. The guides below use the latest 2008/9 standards.

• MLA Citation Guide: Books (Print & Web)
• MLA Citation Guide: Newspaper, Magazine, Journal articles (Print & Web)
• MLA Citation Guide: Web and Multimedia
• MLA Citation Guide: In-text Citations