Dictionary of Early American Philosophers

This two-volume set is a primary research tool for professional and very serious amateur readers interested in the work of early American intellectuals. By the definition of the introduction, "The boundaries of this Dictionary are set by including figures who taught philosophy, wrote on philosophy, and/or applied philosophical ideas to society between 1600 and 1860 somewhere within the geographical range of what is present-day US and Canada." The latter definition is historically appropriate, and allows the collection to include major intellectual figures like Franklin and Jefferson who might not be considered philosophers by current academic definitions. Published works covered date from the 1630s to about 1910. More than 400 entries, organized alphabetically by last name, give capsule accounts of each person's life, work, and ideas. Each listing is followed by three appendices: a bibliography of their original publications, "other relevant works" including where their papers or collections reside, and "further reading," including biographies or major works by other authors which reference their work. Published by Continuum under the general editorship of John R. Shook, the book was produced by a large editorial board and contains contributions by approximately 150 scholars. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

John R. Shook, Ph.D., is Vice President for Education and Research and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, New York. He also is Research Associate in Philosophy at the University at Buffalo. Among his books are Dewey's Empirical Theory of Knowledge and Reality (2000) and Dewey's Philosophy of Spirit (2010). He has edited or co-edited more than a dozen books including Pragmatic Naturalism and Realism (2003), A Companion to Pragmatism (2005), Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers (2005), and The Future of Naturalism (2009).