List of important publications in philosophy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_important_publications_in_philosophy

by ekm2 • 13 years ago

46 23 13 years ago

en.wikipedia.org

Rangi42• 13 years ago

This list seems to exemplify Alfred Whitehead's statement that "the safest general characterization of the philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato." (With many of those footnotes by Aristotle.)

paganel• 13 years ago

is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato

It depends, really. As a Democritus fanboy I always take "offense" when hearing similar remarks, and I usually try (and fail) to make my point by offering a witty remark which might sound like Hobbes or Epicurus might have said it.

On a more serious note, this list is really bogus when it comes to "ancient Philosophy" because it ignores all the pre-Socratics. Ok, maybe some Sophists were not the most trust-worthy bunch of them all, but you cannot really omit Heraclitus or Democritus himself.

seliopou• 13 years ago

I completely agree on the pre-Socratic point. Where's my man Parmenides? But in fairness, many pre-Socratic works are so fragmentary that it's difficult to even consider them works, nevermind philosophical works. Thus they typically fall under the purview of Classics departments. It's unfortunate that they're not taught more broadly and in a context that's more appropriate to their subject, but Classicists are probably the best equipped to handle these authors, given how time has present them to us.

_bfhp• 13 years ago

The irony: a page about philosophy displaying unabashed human subjectivity. Feminist philosophy has one entry, wonder why

afogarty• 13 years ago

Wikipedia's philosophy articles are notoriously bad.

jessriedel2• 13 years ago

You think there is a second article on feminist philosophy that is more notable than the average article on this short list?

steveklabnik2• 13 years ago

Yes, "Feminism is for everybody" and/or "Gender Trouble" are just as, if not more, notable than "The Second Sex." Or maybe some of the earliest publications, like 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.'

Regardless of the details, there are certainly more than one notable work inside of feminism.

alex-g• 13 years ago

"A Vindication of the Rights of Women" by Mary Wollstonecraft is already listed under "modern philosophy", as is "The Subjection of Women" by Mill, and Thomson's "A Defense of Abortion" is under "bioethics".

I would think that such works as "A Cyborg Manifesto" by Donna Haraway, "Anarchism" by Emma Goldman, or "Gyn/Ecology" by Mary Daly are at least as worthy of being listed here as "The Book of Five Rings" or Russell's "The Problems of Philosophy".

nick_urban• 13 years ago

Notably empty category: Business ethics.

dfc• 13 years ago

What is "the irony"?

derleth• 13 years ago

Find some reliable sources and fix it, if it bothers you.

brownbat• 13 years ago

It's gotten harder to do so over the years. I used to lodge several edits, people would build on what was written. Now it seems like everything gets an automatic revert. I'd dismiss it as the mediocre quality of my contributions, but I don't think I'm alone:

"Wikipedia has changed from the encyclopedia that anyone can edit to the encyclopedia that anyone who understands the norms, socializes himself or herself, dodges the impersonal wall of semi-automated rejection, and still wants to voluntarily contribute his or her time and energy can edit," Halfaker said.

http://www1.umn.edu/news/news-releases/2013/UR_CONTENT_42836...

brudgers• 13 years ago

No mention of Peter Singer?

Agree or disagree with his views, Animal Liberation is an important philosophical work due to its impact on contemporary culture.

steveklabnik2• 13 years ago

Wikipedia's philosophy sections are... okay.

bhaumik• 13 years ago

Once you pick out something, head over the Standford's Philosophy department to read more: http://plato.stanford.edu/contents.html

clarkm• 13 years ago

Plato is an amazing resource.

Its articles strike the perfect balance between intellectual rigour and general accessibility. It combines the traditional encyclopedic format with the authorship of academic experts. And if that wasn't enticing enough, the articles are published for free and list the author's contact information at the bottom.

rmk2• 13 years ago

This doesn't have any member of the Frankfurt School...

Bonus points for also having no Derrida, Althusser, Fichte, Bergson or Simmel. (Apart from others, like Schleiermacher, Schlegel etc.)

eseehausen• 13 years ago

It is amusing to see them try to shoehorn "Continental" works into "Analytic" categories. The idea, for instance, that _Capitalism and Schizophrenia_ is a text about ethics in the same vein as _After Virtue_ borders on the absurd.

rockyleal• 13 years ago

The "Eastern Philosophy" section is a bad joke.

triplesec• 13 years ago

You're all right: this is a terrible article where a main descriptor is by definition subjective (important: to whom, for what, and for what reasons?). But why is it hacker news?

While we're at it, yes it needs a continental section, among many other improvements. This is a problem with tree taxonomy in fields of ideas. Anyone really feel like they really care about fixing this? Is that why someone posted it here?

List of important publications in philosophy

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