This panoramic survey of philosophic and religious thought, both ancient and modern, provides access to a wide array of ideas. More than just a dictionary, this well-designed reference work contains analytical commentary and historical accounts on a vast range of topics, select bibliographies attached to many of the entries, and considerable cross-referencing. The cross-references run from philosophic movements, to technical terms, to the positions of individual philosophers, thus encouraging a personal exploration of the themes, movements, and thinkers of any particular school of thought. The end result is a reasonably compact single volume with many of the features of a multivolume encyclopedia. William Reese covers both analytic and Continental philosophy, and includes a good deal of the history of philosophy. There are biographical entries for more than 900 ancient, medieval, and modern philosophers, for a total number of entries of over 4000.
Review
"For thorough treatments of Ajivikas and the Apologists, the derivation and meaning of "angst" and "anthropopathism," and profiles of Apollo, Al-Kindi, and Antiochus of Ascalon, William Reese's Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion is the tome of preference. And it does a fine job with B through Z, as well. With more than 4,000 entries, the dictionary delves into Continental and Asian philosophies and religions, and provides biographies of more than 900 ancient, medieval, and modern philosophers. It's erudite, inclusive, accessible, and covers the major philosophers, gods, tenets, and terms of both the Eastern and Western worlds." --Stephanie Gold
