Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The present Companion, like the majority of the other volumes in the Blackwell Companions to Philosophy series, is organized as a standard reference book, with alphabetically arranged articles of varying length (anything from 250 to 3500 words) on leading theories, thinkers, ideas, distinctions and concepts in epistemology. It aims for a broad readership, while recognizing that the nature of contemporary epistemology inevitably imposes restrictions on this. In some other areas of philosophy it remains feasible to design a book which is largely accessible to the general reader; in epistemology, however, the main readership is likely to be students from undergraduate level upwards, as well as professional philosophers, and it is to them that the Companion is primarily addressed. A minority of topics resist treatment other than at an advanced level: they have not for that reason been excluded, lest coverage of the area become incomplete. But the vast majority are accessible to all levels of the intended readership. Not all entries will be comprehensible on their own: at least, not to the inexperienced reader. This is where the cross-referencing system comes in. I have used two interrelated methods of guiding readers from one entry to another. Within the text itself terms or names occur in small capitals; this will often occur where reference is made to D escartes , or to realism , ... log in or subscribe to read full text