One Hundred Twentieth-Century Philosophers

From Adorno to Zhang Binglin and absolute idealism to vitalism, One Hundred Twentieth-Century Philosophers presents the major individuals and schools of thought with depth and clarity. For each philosopher in the alphabetically arranged compilation, the authors provide bibliographic statistics (years lived, where born, and philosophical influences, where educated, appointments and positions, honors, and main publications). This thumbnail sketch is then followed by a lucid summary and astute analysis of the philosopher's development, career, and contributions. An excellent, scholarly reference for any student of philosophy, its text is also conducive to browsing. Flipping through the I's reveals that Roman Ingarden (1893-1970, Cracow, Poland) asked interesting phenomenological questions on the interaction between idealism-realism and works of art, while Luce Irigaray (b. 1930, Blaton, Belgium), feminist philosopher and psychoanalyst, has caused controversy with her focus on sexual bias in language, civil rights, and philosophy. Adhering to rigorous academic and prose standards, this encyclopedia of 20th-century philosophers is a worthy supplement to one's reference library. --Stephanie Gold