The Shorter Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Hardcover)

This comes out of a process of distilling the original ten-volume Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (1998) into a one-volume Concise Encyclopedia, which included each of the references in the ten-volume set, only in briefer format. This succeeded, according to the editor Edward Craig, in satisfying the need from breadth, but not depth. This Shorter Encyclopedia has only half as many articles as the Concise version, but many are in greater depth - this includes over 100 entries that are in full-text version from the ten-volume parent work. It also includes all 24 Signpost entries, essays set apart in headings in light gray pull-boxes; these give in-depth treatment about key issues, schools and trends in philosophy.

According to Craig, the Shorter Encyclopedia is 'unashamedly "Western" in its emphasis, being designed to suit the needs of undergraduate philosophy students and the courses they are most likely to encounter.' However, particularly with regard to the more substantial Signpost entries, there is a fair amount given to Latin American, Indian, Jewish, African, East-Asian and other philosophical traditions.

Thanks to the availability of the larger, ten-volume work online, there have been continuing updates and revisions, of which this Shorter volume has taken full advantage. Admittedly very few of the entries here are substantially different from those in the previous print edition, but a critical few (such as the entry on the major figure David Hume) have been revised or completely rewritten. More than a dozen previously internet-only entries have been included in this volume as well.

The suggestions for further reading have also been updated from the original ten-volume text, taking advantage of publishing in the last decade.

This is a good volume for reference for those who are students of philosophy - geared toward undergraduates, graduate students will likely also appreciate the ready availability of the entries here. This is a wonderful text for students of theology, ministry or religious studies, who often have some background in philosophy, but not in the same depth as philosophy students proper. Students of history, politics and other humanities and social sciences will also find this a very useful tool. I have found the entries on art, aesthetics and value appreciation to be very useful; 'Aesthetics' is one of the major entries, and 'Painting, Aesthetics of' is one of the new entries for this volume.

Among the list of contributors (which one finds in the introductory material as the list of entries and contributors) one finds a veritable who's who of contemporary philosophical scholarship. This includes the entry on 'Process philosophy' by David Ray Griffin (one of the leading voices in this field) and the entry on 'Simone Weil' by Rowan Williams (current Archbishop of Canterbury).

This is a very useful, very readable, and rather comprehensive one-volume treatment of philosophy, that should have a good shelf-life for students, scholars and others with interest in philosophical disciplines.