Introduction
This is a guide to selected sources of information related to the PH450 Seminar on Islamic Philosophy: all of these resources can be accessed either on campus or remotely by entering in the S number on the back of your student ID. The guide is only meant to be a starting point for your research. For further research assistance, please contact the Philosophy Liaison Librarian.
Reference Materials
When using reference materials make note of any words that are used to describe your topic, these words can serve as keywords when it comes time to search for articles in online journal databases. Also, pay attention to the citations located at the end of topic entries, they can be used as a starting point for locating scholarly research.
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Oxford Islamic Studies Online |
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CountryWatch
Use to get basic background information on Islamic countries
Encyclopedia of Classical Philosophy
The Koran
Ref BP109 .D39
The Literature of Islam (see chapters 6-8)
Ref BP161.3 .S585
The New Encyclopedia of Islam
Ref BP40 .G42
The Quran: An Encyclopedia
Ref BP133 .Q73
Search Tips
Tip 1: If you are looking for analysis of a specific philosopher make sure to use the English (westernized) and Arabic iterations of their name; for example:
Avicenna or Ibn Sina
Averroes or Ibn Rushd
Tip 2: When using the Arabic version of a philosopher's name make sure to put their name in quotes, even if the name contains a hyphen. If you do not put their name in quotes the databases will look for each part of the name separately.
Philosopher name without a hyphen: "Ibn Sina"
Philosopher name with a hyphen: "al-Kindi"
Tip 3: To search the catalogs and databases highlighted in this guide you will need to use Boolean operators (ANDs and ORs), quotation marks, and truncation to pull up books and articles on your topic. Here is a brief overview of how to use Boolean operators and truncation:
- AND: use AND to link together search topics
al-farabi AND peripatetic - OR: use OR to link together synonyms or like concepts
(avicenna or "ibn sina") AND (essence or existence or metaphysics) - * : use truncation to pull up the root of a word with variant endings
neoplatonis* will pull up items with the words neoplatonist or neoplatonism
Find Books
Perform a Subject Heading Search to Find Criticism or Analysis
To locate criticism or analysis on philosophers do a subject search on their name. Once you find the correct manifestation of their name, click on the name to bring up a list of books that the library owns about them. For Arabic names remove the "al" that appears before their name; for example enter Farabi not al-Farabi in a subject search.
Perform an Author Search to Find Primary Sources/Original Texts
To locate primary sources or original texts written by Islamic philosophers, do an author search using their last name. Once you find the correct manifestation of their name, click on the name to bring up a list of books that the library owns by them. For Arabic names remove the "al" that appears before their name; for example enter Kindi not al-Kindi in an author search.
Geisel Library Catalog
Books that deal exclusively with Islamic Philosophy or Islamic philosophers can be found in the B740-B753 call number range. Feel free to browse our shelves to locate titles of interest to this course.
Below is a sampling of Islamic texts that are in the Geisel Library collection:
The Book of the Decisive Treatise Determining the Connection between the Law and Wisdom by Averroes
B749.F32 E5
The Incoherence of the Philosophers by Al-Ghazzali
B753.G33 T3313
The Metaphysics of the Healing by Avicenna
B751.S5 E5
On First Philosophy by Al-Kindi
B753.K53F3513
The Philosophy of Illumination by Hikmat al-Ishraq
BP188.9 .S93913
WorldCat
Use WorldCat to search the collections of libraries worldwide. If you would like to use a book that is not owned by Geisel Library, you can request it through Interlibrary Loan. Ask for help in using this database at the reference desk, in person, or online at Ask a Librarian.
Ebrary
Use ebary to search through over 40,000 e-books spanning across all scholarly disciplines. Books can either be opened in QuickView for instant viewing or in the ebrary Reader (a downloadable plug-in), which provides enhanced functionality such as the ability to copy/paste, highlight, or take notes.
Access restricted to the Saint Anselm College community.
Below is a sampling of titles that are included in ebrary:
- Alfarabi, Avicenna, and Averroes, on Intellect: Their Cosmologies, Theories of the Active Intellect, and Theories of Human Intellect
- Al-Farabi and His School
- An Introduction to Islamic Classical Philosophy
- Before and After Avicenna: Proceedings of the First Conference of the Avicenna Study Group
- Mulla Sadra's Transcendent Philosophy
Journal Articles
Because there is no one database that deals specifically with Islamic Philosophy you will need to consult a variety of databases in order to gather research, analysis, and criticism of Islamic philosophers. The databases listed below allow you to search for articles focusing primarily on philosophy and Islamic studies.
Some of the databases will contain the full text of articles while others will be abstract or citation only databases, requiring the use of WebBridge to locate the full text. To brush up on WebBridge please consult our WebBridge video tutorial or our WebBridge webpage.
Please note the inclusion of Arts and Humanities Citation Index, International Medieval Bibliography, and Iter as supplemental databases. These three databases are vastly different from JSTOR and EBSCO databases. Please contact the Philosophy Liaison Librarian for assistance in using these databases.
Core Databases
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Philosopher's Index |
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Journal of Islamic Philosophy |
Academic Search Premier
Indexed titles of note: Arab Studies Quarterly, Arabic Sciences & Philosophy, Comparative Islamic Studies, Islamic Law and Society, Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies, and Journal of Qur'anic Studies
Supplemental Databases
Arts & Humanities Citation Index
CITATION ONLY - WILL NEED TO USE WEBBRIDGE
Indexed titles of note: Speculum, Journal of Islamic Studies and Vivarium
ATLA Religion Database
Indexed titles of note: Muslim World, Hamdard Islamicus, Islam, and Journal of Near Eastern Studies
International Medieval Bibliography
ON CAMPUS ONLY - ABSTRACT ONLY - WILL NEED TO USE WEBBRIDGE
Search Tip: Use the Advanced Search option to limit the search results to English language research
To locate the full text: Use the WebBridge icon, do not use the "View full text of the article" link, this will bring you to a commercial website that will charge you for full text access
Indexed titles of note: Iranian Studies: Journal of the International Society for Iranian Studies, Islamic Quarterly, and Quaestio: The Yearbook of the History of Metaphysics
Iter: Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance
CITATION ONLY - WILL NEED TO USE WEBBRIDGE See User Guide
To locate the full text: Click on "Check for Full Text" link
Indexed titles of note: The Modern Schoolman, Medieval Encounters, Religious Studies, and Islamic Quarterly
JSTOR
Search Tip: Limit your JSTOR search to the following disciplines: Classical, Middle East Studies, Religion, and Philosophy. This will limit your searches to only those journals that publish research on Islamic philosophy.
Titles of note: International Journal of Middle East Studies and Philosophy East and West
Project Muse
Search Tip: Limit your search to the following disciplines: Classics, Middle East Studies, Philosophy, Philosophy and Science, and Religion. This will limit your searches to only those journals that publish research on Islamic philosophy.
Title of note: Journal of the History of Philosophy
Web Resources
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Links to full text books and articles on Islamic Philosophy and various Islamic philosophers. Site includes access to the Dictionary of Islamic Philosophy and the Map of Islamic Philosophy.
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Harvard University
Access digitzed versions of Islamic texts, manuscripts, and maps. You can search by keyword or click on the "Published Materials" link to browse by topic. Please keep in mind that these are primary source materials and as such, are written in Arabic with little to no English language translation.
Al-Qantara
An open source journal dedicated to the study of classical Islamic civilization up to the 17th century. Full text access is available after 6 months of publication. Al Qantara is indexed in Arts and Humanities Citation Index. If you would like to place an Interlibrary Loan for an article that is less than 6 months old search for the article in A&H and use WebBridge to place the Interlibrary Loan request.
Al-Ghazzali Online Library
A online bibliography of works by and about Al-Ghazzali
Brief Bibliographical Guide in Medieval Islamic Philosophy and Theology (1998-2002)
Thérèse-Anne Druart
The Catholic University of America
Internet Archive - Text Archive
To search for works by a specific philosopher, click on "Advanced Search" and enter in the philosopher's name in the "creator" search box.
Internet Sacred Text Archive - Islamic Texts
Provides online access to major Islamic texts including the Qur'an and Sufi texts
Philosophers of the Arabs
Provides links to articles and essays by Arabic philosophers that discuss contemporary philosophical issues
Philosophy Talk: Islamic Philosophy
Stanford University
Podcast on Islamic Philosophy from Stanford University's Philosophy Talk radio program
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Online encyclopedia produced by Stanford University that has a number of articles on Islamic Philosophy and Islamic philosophers
Citing Sources
See the library's Citing Sources guide for resources on how to properly cite research materials. Always confirm the style required by your instructor.
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