Collins Memorial Library: Philosophy: Primary Sources

Primary Texts in Collins Library

Print copies of philosophical texts can be located via the Collins Library Primo Search.

Scholarly Editions
Whenever possible, you should use scholarly editions of philosophical texts. A scholarly edition of a text typically will present and discuss variant versions; provide historical, cultural and linguistic context; and delineate the history of scholarly approaches to that text. Most scholarly editions will have an editor (or editors) and will be published by a university press.

Translations
English translations of philosophical texts can differ markedly. Always use the translation your professor recommends.

Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle Aristotle; Robert Bartlett; Susan D. Collins (Translator)
Call Number: B430.A5 B37 2011 Print Books
ISBN: 9780226026749
Publication Date: 2011
Drawing on their intimate knowledge of Aristotle's thought, Robert C. Bartlett and Susan D. Collins have produced here an English-language translation of the Ethics that is as remarkably faithful to the original as it is graceful in its rendering. Bartlett and Collins provide copious notes and a glossary providing context and further explanation for students, as well as an introduction and a substantial interpretive essay that sketch central arguments of the work and the seminal place of Aristotle's Ethics in his political philosophy as a whole.
Plato: Complete Works by Plato; John M. Cooper (Editor); D. S. Hutchinson (Editor)
Call Number: B358 .C3 1997
ISBN: 9780872203495
Publication Date: 1997-05-01
Outstanding translations by leading contemporary scholars--many commissioned especially for this volume--are presented here in the first single edition to include the entire surviving corpus of works attributed to Plato in antiquity. In his introductory essay, John Cooper explains the presentation of these works, discusses questions concerning the chronology of their composition, comments on the dialogue form in which Plato wrote, and offers guidance on approaching the reading and study of Plato's works. Also included are concise introductions by Cooper and Hutchinson to each translation, meticulous annotation designed to serve both scholar and general reader, and a comprehensive index. This handsome volume offers fine paper and a high-quality Smyth-sewn cloth binding in a sturdy, elegant edition.

Public Domain Texts

Google Books will help you find online versions of older philosophy texts that are in the public domain (out of copyright). These texts will not include the most up-to-date scholarly annotations. Be especially careful if you are using an older translation; some nineteenth-century translators edited content without letting the reader know.

Online Philosophy Texts

Loeb Classical Library This link opens in a new window
A virtual library of Greek and Latin literature with English translations. Includes epic and lyric poetry; tragedy and comedy; history, travel, philosophy, and oratory.

Early Modern Texts
Provides modified versions of some classics of early modern philosophy, prepared with a view to making them easier to read while leaving intact the main arguments, doctrines, and lines of thought.
Chinese Text Project
The Chinese Text Project is an open-access digital library of pre-modern Chinese philosophical texts, with some translations in English.

Featured Resource

Examined Life: philosophy is in the streets by Astra Taylor
Call Number: B805 .E823 2009 DVD Collection
Publication Date: 2010
Examined Life is a 2008 film, directed by Astra Taylor, that features eight contemporary philosophers as they walk city streets and discuss the application of their ideas to modern culture. The philosophers interviewed are: Cornel West, Avital Ronell, Peter Singer, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Martha Nussbaum, Michael Hardt, Slavoj Žižek and Judith Butler. The DVD of Examined Life is available for checkout in Collins Library.

Philosophy Bites

"Podcasts of top philosophers interviewed on bite-sized topics..."

Audio Archives

BBC In Our Time Philosophy Interviews Archive
Host Melvyn Bragg discusses ancient and modern philosophy and philosophical topics with contemporary thinkers.
The History of Philosophy without any gaps
Peter Adamson, Professor of Philosophy at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich and at King's College London, takes listeners through the history of philosophy, "without any gaps." The series looks at the ideas, lives and historical context of the major philosophers as well as the lesser-known figures of the tradition.
To the Best of Our Knowledge - Philosophy Interviews Archive
From Wisconsin Public Radio, a wide-ranging audio archive of interviews on philosophy and philosophical topics.

Puget Sound Archives & Special Collections, Philosophy

The Archives & Special Collections collects, preserves, and makes available primary source material documenting life at the University as well as collections representing regional, national and international issues.

A small selection of material is listed below, for additional sources, please contact archives@pugetsound.edu.

The John D. Regester Collection on Albert Schweitzer, 1924-1974, documents Regester's research on Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965), a medical missionary, philosopher, and Nobel Peace Prize winner (1952) who operated a hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon, for 45 years.

Descartes, René, Les principes de la philosophie, 1659.

Archives & Special Collections Hours

The Archives & Special Collections is located on the second floor of the Collins Memorial Library.

Set up an appointment: We are open to researchers by appointment Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. To make an appointment, email archives@pugetsound.edu or book online.

We look forward to assisting you!