Philosophy

Providing access to quality Philosophy resources and subject support.

References and citations Working off-campus Using the library

Databases View more

Here are the key databases/online resources to start finding information in your subject area. Click on 'View more' to go to the full listing for the Library, and use the filters to find more for this subject and others.

Humanities index (formerly British Humanities Index)

Covers a wide-range of arts, politics and humanities subjects with a strong focus on UK publications.

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Oxford Reference

Oxford Reference provides over 17,000 concise definitions and in-depth, specialist encyclopedic entries on all aspects of philosophy

Periodicals archive online

Periodicals Archive Online is a major archive that makes the backfiles of periodicals in the humanities and social sciences available electronically.

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Scopus

Scopus is an abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature: academic journals, books and conference proceedings. Scopus is a comprehensive resource covering chemistry, physics, mathematics and engineering; life and health sciences; social sciences, psychology, business and economics; arts and humanities and biological and environmental sciences. It also includes the Geobase database.

New version available.

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Web of Science

Covers a wide variety of disciplines including engineering, sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities. Search features include cited reference searching allowing you to discover who has referenced a particular work since it was published.

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Wiley online library

Access to the online library of journals published by Wiley, particularly in chemistry, physics and psychology.

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Newsbank

NewsBank provides access to information from thousands of newspaper titles, as well as newswires, web editions, blogs, videos, broadcast transcripts, business journals, periodicals, government documents and other publications. The resource has content from leading news providers worldwide so has global coverage with newspapers available from a variety of countries in numerous different languages. The resource also provides access to image copies of UK national newspapers so you can view the content as it would have appeared in the print version.

Books E-books Catalogue

You can access books and e-books via the Catalogue (also known as Library Catalogue Plus) to search for and check their availability. The Catalogue also provides links to e-books and displays the shelf marks of physical books in the Library. We have detailed the shelf marks of the most popular topics below (the level is for the Library in Loughborough).

Subject / title Pilkington level Shelfmark
Philosophy (general) 2 100
History of philosophy 2 109
Theory of aesthetics 2 111.85
Theories of knowledge 2 121
Philosophy of mind 2 128.2
Philosophies of schools and viewpoints 2 140
Philosophical thinkers and writers 2 190
Political philosophy 2 320.01

Videos View more

Use the videos to learn more about some resources or finding information.

Nexis video tutorials

Video tutorials offering support in using Nexis news database
Scopus - How to expand your search

Newsbank video - How to create a basic search

Learn how to conduct a basic search in your library's NewsBank resource, including Access World News and America's News.

Newsbank video - How to conduct an advanced search

"More Search Options" enables you to conduct an advanced search in your library's NewsBank resource, including Access World News and America's News.

Scopus video tutorials

Video tutorial offering support in using Scopus database

Frequently asked questions View more

Here are some of the most popular questions asked by students in this subject. If you have a different question, check 'View more' or ask your Academic Librarian.

You need to search via the VPN and multi-factor authentication (MFA) when you are off campus, this link will show you how to download this onto your device.

A good starting point would be the online reading list for your Philosophy module. The key introductory texts will be highlighted. You should also browse the shelves starting at 100 on Level 2 for general texts on Philosophy.  

The best place to search is the Library's subject specific databases. The key ones for Philosophy to get you started are listed above in the Databases section of this guide. You can find more Philosophy databases by clicking on ‘View more’ then ‘Filter listing’ then select ‘Philosophy’.

The preferred referencing styles for Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) are Harvard and Chicago (footnotes style).  Guidance is available from Cite them right online and the Chicago manual of style online quick guide. Further instruction is available from the Politics and International Studies Learn pages. London students should check which style they should use with their module leader or supervisor.

The LUA001: Academic Skills module brings together learning resources and interactive courses to help you develop the skills needed for success at university. The module is designed to guide you through the study journey, helping you to understand academic expectations, work with information critically and communicate your ideas clearly.