The Philosopher's Index Database Guide
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Database guide last
updated May 21, 2024

Copyright 2024,
Wolters Kluwer Health

The Philosopher's Index provides indexing and abstracts from books and journals of philosophy and related fields. It covers the areas of ethics, aesthetics, social philosophy, political philosophy, epistemology, and metaphysic logic as well as material on the philosophy of law, religion, science, history, education, and language.

Segments and Years of Coverage
Name   Years of Coverage
phil   1940-Present

The limit of databases that you can select for a multifile search session is based upon database segments rather than actual databases. The Ovid multifile segment limit is set at 120 to avoid impacting your search sessions. This database includes 1 segment.

This database is updated online quarterly.

 

Fields
The following list is sorted alphabetically by field alias. Click a field name to see the description and search information.
All Fields in this Database
  Abstract (AB) Journal Name (JN) Series Title (ST)
  Accession Number (AN) Journal Word (JX) Series Volume (SV)
  All Searchable Fields (AF) Language (LG) Source (SO)
  Author (AU) Page (PG) Source Description (SD)
  Book Reviewed Year (RY) Personal Name as Subject (PS) Source Information (SI)
  Edition Number (EN) Place of Publication (PP) Subject Heading (SH)
  Heading Word (HW) Publication Information (PI) Title (TI)
  ISBN (IB) Publication Type (PT) Update Code (UP)
  ISSN (IS) Publisher (PB) Volume (VO)
  Issue/Part (IP) Reviewer(s) (RV) Year (YR)
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Default Fields for Unqualified Searches (MP): Searching for a term without specifying a field in Advanced search, or specifying .mp., defaults to the following ‘multi-purpose’ (.mp.) fields for this database: ab,ti,hw.
  Abstract (AB) Subject Heading (SH) Title (TI)
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Default Fields for Display, Print, Email, and Save: The following fields are included by default for each record.

  Abstract (AB) Personal Name as Subject (PS) Series Title (ST)
  Accession Number (AN) Publication Type (PT) Series Volume (SV)
  Author (AU) Reviewer(s) (RV) Title (TI)
  Edition Number (EN) Source (SO) Update Code (UP)
  ISBN (IB) Source Description (SD) Year (YR)
  ISSN (IS) Subject Heading (SH)  
  Language (LG) Source Information (SI)  
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All Fields for Display, Print, Email, and Save: Use the Select Fields button in the Results Manager at the bottom of the Main Search Page to choose the fields for a record.

  Abstract (AB) Language (LG) Series Volume (SV)
  Accession Number (AN) Personal Name as Subject (PS) Source (SO)
  Author (AU) Publication Type (PT) Subject Heading (SH)
  Book Reviewed Year (RY) Reviewer(s) (RV) Title (TI)
  Edition Number (EN) Source Description (SD) Update Code (UP)
  ISBN (IB) Source Information (SI) Year (YR)
  ISSN (IS) Series Title (ST)  
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Elements of Source (SO) Field: Ovid searches the following fields as part of the record source.
  Issue/Part (IP) Publisher (PB) Source Information (SI)
  Journal Name (JN) Page (PG) Volume (VO)
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The following list is sorted alphabetically by the two-letter label, and includes the relevant alias, at least one example for all searchable fields, and a description of the field.
Label Name / Example
AB Abstract [Word Indexed]
derrida.ab.
  The Abstract (AB) field contains a summary of the original document. You can search for any word or phrase in an abstract. Stopwords, which include commonly occurring words such as "of" and "the", will not be indexed.
Back 
AF All Searchable Fields [Search Alias]
Truth.af.
  All Fields (AF) is an alias for all of the fields which occur in the source documents, including value-added fields such as Subject Headings (SH).
Back 
AN Accession Number [Phrase Indexed]
2066666.an.
  The Accession Number (AN) field contains a unique number, which identifies the document. This number enables you to retrieve a specific record at any time.
Back 
AU Author [Phrase Indexed]
Wachbroit robert.au.
  The Author (AU) field lists the individual(s) responsible for the intellectual content of the original document. Author names containing German omlauts are listed in a translated format. For example, "Grunbaum, A" is listed as "Gruenbaum, A" in this database.
Back 
EN Edition Number [Phrase Indexed]
"312".en.
  The Edition Number (EN) field contains the volume and issue of the printed edition of The Philosopher's Index where the publication was announced.
Back 
HW Heading Word [Word Indexed]
zoology.hw.
  The Heading Word (HW) index contains individual words from every Subject Heading term.
Back 
IB ISBN [Phrase Indexed]
"3 05 002283 3".ib.
  The ISBN (IB) field contains the International Standard Book Number as assigned by the publisher.
Back 
IP Issue/Part [Word Indexed]
supplement.ip.
  The Issue/Part (IP) field contains the issue and/or part for a particular volume of a publication. This field displays in the Source (SO) field.
Back 
IS ISSN [Phrase Indexed]
1747 9991.is.
  The ISSN (IS) field contains the International Standard Serial Number for the journal in which the article was published. It displays as a number separated by a hyphen. To search the index, include the hyphens, (e.g., "0016-7460").
Back 
JN Journal Name [Phrase Indexed]
zygon journal of religion and science.jn.
 

The Journal Name (JN) field contains the full name of the journal in which an article was published. This field displays as part of the Source (SO) field. Words such as "of" are included, but when the first word of a journal is "the", "a", or "an," it is removed.

To search for a particular word, use the Journal Word (JX) index.
Back 
JX Journal Word [Phrase Indexed]
postmodern.jx.
  The Journal Word (JX) field contains individual words from every journal name. Stopwords such as "the" or "of" are not included. This field is used to retrieve every occurrence of a journal which includes a particular word, such as "social."
Back 
LG Language [Word Indexed]
french.lg.
  The Language (LG) field contains the language of the original document. Languages are also available as limits.
Back 
PB Publisher [Word Indexed]
znanosti.pb.
  The Publisher (PB) field contains the name of the publisher of the document. This field displays as part of the Publication Information (PI) field.
Back 
PG Page [Word Indexed]
997.pg.
  The Page (PG) field consists of the initial page of the document. This field displays in the Source (SO) field.
Back 
PI Publication Information [Word and Phrase Indexed]
georgetown.pi
"1999".pi
  The Publication Information (PI) field appears only in monograph and contribution records. It provides the publisher's name (in an abbreviated format), city of publication, and four-digit publication year.
Back 
PP Place of Publication [Word Indexed]
zurich.pp.
  The Place of Publication (PP) field contains the city, state, or country where the document was published. This field displays in the Publication Information (PI) field.
Back 
PS Personal Name as Subject [Phrase Indexed]
da vinci l.ps
  The Personal Name (PS) field indicates the name(s) of individuals discussed as the subject of the original document.
Back 
PT Publication Type [Phrase Indexed]
monograph.pt.
 

The Publication Type (PT) field identifies the general type of source document.

Publication Types include:

Book Review
Contribution
Journal Article
Monograph

"Contribution" refers to a chapter of a larger work, such as an anthology. The anthology is classified as the document type "monograph".
Back 
RV Reviewer(s) [Phrase Indexed]
zucker arnaud.rv.
  The Reviewer (RV) field lists the individual(s) responsible for the content of a book review. This field is available for book review records only.
Back
RY Book Review Year [Word Indexed]
2007.ry.
  The Reviewed Book Year (RY) field contains the publication year of the book being reviewed. This field is only available for book review records.
Back
SD Source Description [Phrase Index]
  The Source Description (SD) field contains source information of the original document. This information is repeated in the Volume (VO), Issue/Part (IP), and Page (PG) fields.
Back 
SH Subject Heading [Phrase Indexed]
postmodernism.sh.
  The Subject Heading (SH) field contains terms that describe the content of the document
Back 
SI Source Information [Word Indexed]
series.si.
  The Source Information (SI) field contains additional source information, such as a special issue designation or the number in a series. This field displays as part of the Source (SO) field.
Back 
SO Source [Word and Phrase Indexed]
kant.so.
  The Source (SO) field includes the basic information needed to locate a citation, including the journal name, volume, issue or part, source information, pagination, and date of publication.
Back 
ST Series Title [Word Indexed]
  The Series Title (ST) field contains the title of the series of which the document is a part, and may contain the title of a particular issue of a journal. This field displays in the Title (TI) field.
Back 
SV Series Volume [Phrase Index]
viii.sv.
  The Series Volume (SV) field contains the series of which the document is a part, and may contain the title of a particular issue of a journal. This field displays in the Title (TI) field.
Back 
TI Title [Word Indexed]
zwischenwelten.ti.
 

The Title (TI) field contains the title and subtitle, if provided, of the original document, including the Series Title (ST) and Series Volume (SV) fields.

Stopwords, which include commonly occurring words such as "of" and "the", will not be indexed.
Back 
UP Update Code [Phrase Indexed]
200706.up.
  The Update Code (UP) field contains the date the citation was loaded into the database. The date is formatted YYYYMM.
Back 
VO Volume [Word Indexed]
"56".vo.
  The Volume (VO) field contains the volume of the publication. This field displays as part of the Source (SO) field.
Back 
YR Year [Phrase Indexed]
"2004".yr.
  The Year of Publication (YR) field contains the year in which the document was published. The year may be searched using four digits, such as 2004. Years of Publication are also available as limits.
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Advanced Searching
You can use special search syntax listed below to combine search terms or strategically develop a search. Full documentation is provided in the Advanced Searching Techniques section of the Online Help.
Operator Syntax Search Example Sample Results
OR x or y existentialism or phenomenology

"Derrida and Husserl: The Basic Problem of Phenomenology"

 

 The OR operator retrieves records that contain any or all of the search terms. For example, the search heart attack or myocardial infarction retrieves results that contain the terms heart attack, myocardial infarction or both terms; results are all inclusive. You can use the OR operator in both unqualified searches and searches applied to a specific field.
AND x and y camus and sartre

"Camus and Sartre: The Story of Friendship and the Quarrel That Ended It"

 

 The AND operator retrieves only those records that include all of the search terms. For example, the search blood pressure and stroke retrieves results that contain the term blood pressure and the term stroke together in the same record; results are exclusive of records that do not contain both of these terms. You can use the AND operator in both unqualified searches and searches applied to a specific field.
NOT x not y existentialism not sartre

"Judith Butler's Postmodern Existentialism: A Critical Analysis"

 

 The NOT operator retrieves records that contain the first search term and excludes the second search term. For example, the search health reform not health maintenance organizations retrieves only those records that contain the term health reform but excludes the term health maintenance organizations. In this way, you can use the NOT operator to restrict results to a specific topic.
You can use the NOT operator in both unqualified searches and searches applied to a specific field.
Adjacency (ADJ) x y essentialism feminism

"Essentialism, Universalism, and Feminist Politics"

 

 The Adjacent operator (ADJ) retrieves records with search terms next to each other in that specific order. You do not need to separate search terms manually by inserting ADJ between them, because when you separate terms with a space on the command line, Ovid automatically searches for the terms adjacent to one another. For example, the search blood pressure is identical to the search blood adj pressure.
Defined Adjacency (ADJn) x ADJn y existentialism adj3 camus

"EXISTENTIALISM: KIERKEGAARD, SARTRE AND CAMUS"

 

 The defined adjacency operator (ADJn) retrieves records that contain search terms within a specified number (n-1) of words from each other in any order (stop-words included). To use the adjacency operator, separate your search terms with ADJ and a number from 1 to 99 as explained below:

           ADJ1     Next to each other, in any order
           ADJ2     Next to each other, in any order, up to 1 word in between
           ADJ3     Next to each other, in any order, up to 2 words in between
           ADJ99   Next to each other, in any order, up to 98 words in between

For example, the search physician adj5 relationship retrieves records that contain the words physician and relationship with a maximum of four words in between in either direction. This particular search retrieves records containing such phrases as physician patient relationship, patient physician relationship, or relationship between cancer patient and physician.
Please note Ovid’s order of operation handles terms within parentheses first. Therefore it is recommended to apply the ADJn operator in one-on-one operations to avoid missing out on results. E.g. stroke adj4 (blood pressure or high blood pressure) could potentially miss out on some combinations of stroke with high blood pressure. The optimum way to execute this on Ovid is: (stroke adj4 blood pressure) OR (stroke adj4 high blood pressure).
Frequency (FREQ) x.ab./FREQ=n postmodernism.ab./freq=5

"The Religious Significance of Postmodernism

 

 The frequency operator (FREQ) lets you specify a threshold of occurrence of a term in the records retrieved from your search. Records containing your search term are retrieved only if the term occurs at least the specified (n) number of times. In general, records that contain many instances of your search term are more relevant than records that contain fewer instances. The frequency operator is particularly useful when searching a text field, such as Abstract or Full Text, for a common word or phrase.
Unlimited Truncation ($) x$ rat$

"Rationality and Freedom"

 

 Unlimited truncation retrieves all possible suffix variations of the root word indicated. To apply unlimited truncation to a term, type the root word or phrase followed by either of the truncation characters: $ (dollar sign) or * (asterisk). For example, in the truncated search rat*, Ovid retrieves the word rat as well as the words rats, and more.
Limited Truncation ($) x$n dog$1

"On Guinea Pigs, Dogs and Men"

 

 Limited truncation specifies a maximum number of characters that may follow the root word or phrase. For example, the truncated search dog$1 retrieves results with the words dog and dogs; but it does not retrieve results with the word dogma.
Mandated Wildcard (#) xx#y wom#n

"Women without Class: Girls, Race, and Identity

 

 Searching with a mandated wildcard retrieves all possible variations of a word in which the wildcard is present in the specified place. You can use it at the end of a term to limit results to only those that contain the word plus the mandated character. For example, the search dog# retrieves results that contain the word dogs, but not those that contain the word dog, effectively limiting results to only those that contain the plural form of the word. The mandated wild card character (#) is also useful for retrieving specialized plural forms of a word. For example, the search wom#n retrieves results that contain both woman and women. You can use multiple wild cards in a single query word.
Optional Wildcard (?) xx?y colo?r

"Colour Irrealism and the Formation of Colour Concepts"

 

 The optional wild card character (?) can be used within or at the end of a search term to substitute for one or no characters. This wild card is useful for retrieving documents with British and American word variants since it specifies that you want retrieval whether or not the extra character is present. For example, the optional wild card search colo?r retrieves results that contain the words color or colour. You can use multiple wild cards in a single query word.
Literal String ("") "x / y" "Hot / Cold"

"The Hot And The Cold, The Dry And The Wet In Greek Philosophy"
"n" "3".vo

"Appraisal: The Journal of the Society for Post-Critical and Personalist Studies. 3(4): 164, 2000. Ashgate, Aldershot."

 

Quotation marks can be used to retrieve records that contain literal strings, when the string includes special characters, such as a forward slash (/).

Quotation marks can also be used to retrieve records that contain numbers that may otherwise be confused for earlier searches. In the example, a search for 3.vo would limit the string from your third search in your search history to the volume field. By including the number in quotation marks, the search will retrieve documents with a 3 in the volume number.
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Stopwords
Stopwords are words of little intrinsic meaning that occur too frequently to be useful in searching text. You cannot search for the following stopwords by themselves, but you can include them within phrases by placing the entire phrase within quotation marks.
a by having neither seem those
about can how no seen through
after could however nor several thus
again did if not should to
all do in obtain show under
almost does into obtained showed up
also done is of shown upon
although during it often shows use
always each its on significant used
among either itself only significantly using
an enough just or since various
and especially kg other so very
another etc km our some was
any followed largely out such we
approximately following like overall suggest were
are for made per than what
as found mainly perhaps that when
at from make possible the whereas
be further may previously their which
because give might quite theirs while
been given min rather them with
before giving mm really then within
being had most regarding there would
between hardly mostly resulted these  
both has must resulting they  
but have nearly same this  
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Limits
The following limits are available for this database. See Database Limits in the Ovid Online Help for details on applying limits.

Limit

 Syntax
Abstracts Sentence Syntax: limit 1 to abstracts
Command Syntax: ..l/ ab=y
  A limit to Abstracts restricts retrieval to records that include an abstract.
Full Text Sentence Syntax: limit 1 to full text
  A limit to Full Text will result in only those records that have links to full text. Both Ovid full text and external full text are included in this limit.
Language Sentence Syntax: limit 1 to french
  A limit to Language restricts retrieval by the language in which the document is written.
Latest Update Sentence Syntax: limit 1 to latest update
  A limit to Latest Update restricts retrieval to records which were most recently added to the database.
Ovid Full Text Available Sentence Syntax: limit 1 to full text
  A limit to Ovid Full Text Available restricts retrieval to records that contain a link to the full text of an article.
Publication Type Sentence Syntax: limit 1 to book review
  A limit to Publication Type restricts retrieval to records of a specific type.
Publication Year Sentence Syntax: limit 1 to yr=2004
limit 1 to yr=1999-2001
  A limit to Publication Year restricts retrieval to records between the selected dates. Use the dropdown lists to select a range of years.
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Tools

There are currently no tools available for this database.

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Changing to this Database
To change a search session to a segment of this database from another database or another segment, use the following syntax in the Ovid Syntax tab:
  Command Syntax: ..c/phil
  Sentence Syntax: use phil

Click on this link to see other Advanced Search Techniques

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Sample Documents
Sample 1 
Accession Number
   1641924
Title
   The Religious Significance of Postmodernism.
Author
   Smith, Huston.
Source
   Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers.
   12(3): 409-422, 1995.
Publication Type
   Journal Article
Abstract
   Accepting Lyotard's "incredulity toward metanarratives" as its definition of
   postmodernism, and Derrida's "openness to the other" as deconstruction's
   contribution to it, this essay distinguishes three species of postmodernism:
   minimal (we have no believable metanarrative), mainline (they are unavailable
   in principle), and polemical ("good riddance!"). It then argues that the
   religious impulse challenges all three of these contentions. Contra polemical
   postmodernism, metanarratives/worldviews are needed. Contra mainline
   postmodernism, reliable ones are possible. And contra minimal postmodernism,
   they already exist--in the world's great, enduring religious traditions.
Subject Headings
   God. Postmodernism. Religion.
Personal Name as Subject
   DERRIDA, J. LYOTARD, J
Language
   English
ISSN
   0739-7046
Edition Number
   304
Update Code
   200507
Sample 2 
Accession Number
   9036763
Title
   Camus and Sartre: The Story of Friendship and the Quarrel That Ended It.
Author
   Aronson, Ronald.
Source
   Sartre Studies International: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Existentialism
   and Contemporary Culture. 9(2): 88-95, 2003.
   Univ of Chicago Pr, Chicago.
Publication Type
   Book Review
ISSN
   1357-1559
Reviewer(s)
   Flynn, Thomas R
Edition Number
   384
Update Code
   200507
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Producer Information
Producer
The Philosopher's Index
c/o The Philosopher's Information Center
1616 East Wooster Street, Suite 34
Bowling Green , Ohio 43402
USA
Toll Free Telephone: 800.476.8757
Telephone: 419.353.8830
Toll Free Fax: 800.476.8784
Fax: 419.353.8920
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
Copyright
Copyright, The Philosopher's Index, Philosopher's Information Center, 1940 to present. All rights reserved.
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