Aarhus University Seal

Subject Guide for Philosophy

In this subject guide, you will find a collection of resources concerning the field of study of philosophy, including lists of databases, bibliographies, journals and podcasts. You are always welcome to contact your Liaison Librarian in case you need help navigating the subject guide, or if you have suggestions for additional information for the page.

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

A collection of Encyclopedias and dictionaries relevant to your subject.

See Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

  • Unesco Thesaurus
    The UNESCO Thesaurus is a controlled and structured list of terms used in subject analysis and retrieval of documents and publications in the fields of education, culture, natural sciences, social and human sciences, communication and information.

  • Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
    Covers all the central aspects of philosophy. Is continually updated by specialists. All articles are under peer review.
  • Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
    Peer-reviewed og up-to-date online leksikon med artikler skrevet af akademiske filosoffer.

  • The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy
    Covers all areas of philosophy and have terms from related disciplines such as religion, natural sciences and logic. Contains clear and acknowledged definitions.

  • Oxford Reference Online - Premium Collection
    Ebook database with a great collection of acknowledged reference works and dictionaries.

  • Lex.dk
    The Danish national encyclopedia. Contains more than 245.000 articles in Danish, written by subject experts.

  • A Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion
    Dictionary that explains the terms related to the study of philosophy of religion. Provides short bibliographies for philosophers of religion, contemporary as well as historical.

  • Dictionary of Untranslatables
    Collection of fundamental philosophical concepts along with their various linguistic translations and meanings across different language cultures.

  • Encyclopedia of Aesthetics
    Can be found both as part of Oxford Art Online and as a standalone e-reference work. It deals with the philosophy of art and art criticism in a very broad sense.

  • Encyclopedia of Bioethics
    It addresses topics such as ethics in healthcare professions, animal testing, population control, and the environment.

  • Brill’s Encyclopedia of the Neo-Latin World
    The reference work gathers research on all aspects of Neo-Latin's extensive influence from the Renaissance to modern times in overview articles. The reference work also includes 146 shorter topic entries arranged alphabetically.

Article Databases, Journals and Journal Databases

A collection of sources where you can get access to online articles in journals.

See Article Databases, Journals and Journal Databases

  • JSTOR
    Journal database with open full-text access to the leading academic journals within all subject areas. NB: It is usually not possible to access the most recent 3-5 volumes, but it is possible to access publications before that – some journals even go back to the 16th-18th centuries.
  • Project Muse
    Journal database with open full-text access to high quality journals within the humanities and social sciences. The database provides access to the most recent issues and sometimes to older issues (back issues) as well. Continuously updated.

  • Journal of the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists
    Online journal that focuses on female philosophers. Provides access to texts, online seminars, published books, etc.

  • Hypatia – A Journal of Feminist Philosophy
    Online journal under Cambridge University Press that publishes feminist research in philosophy.

  • Philpapers
    The biggest archive within the subject of philosophy, indexed books and articles, including open access archives.

  • ATLA
    ATLA is the leading bibliography within theology, science of religion and ethics.

Special Collections – find specialized information here

An array of specialized archives and collections.

See special collections

Databases – search for literature here

Find a selection of databases relevant for your subject area.

See Databases and special collections

  • Demographics in Philosophy Project 
    Complete overview of more than 50 databases with information resources on gender, class, race, and diversity in philosophy.
  • Supressed Histories Archives
    An independent and non-profit database of 50,000 images and 100 visual presentations, articles, photo essays, books, and videos fleshing out the cultural heritages of womxn around the world. Is not associated with a university or research center.

  • Diversity Reading List in Philosophy
    Overview of relevant texts and research by LGBTQ and female philosophers. In line with the increasing focus on the lack of representation in philosophical research, as well as inequalities regarding gender and race, the list includes texts by authors who do not identify as cis-gender men or who have a non-white racial background.

  • The Open Commons of Phenomenology
    Full text works from phenomenological philosophers.

  • Project Gutenberg
    Project Gutenberg is an online library of more than 60.000 free eBooks. It is the world’s oldest online text archive. The archive is not monitored for errors in digitization. This means that mistakes can appear in the digitized versions of the literature.

  • The Internet Archive
    A source for primary literature from the 19th century.

News and media archives

A selection of sources where you can find Danish and international news.

See news and media archives

  • Infomedia (Only in Danish)
    Here you can find full text articles from Danish national, regional and local daily and weekly newspapers, specialist journals, magazines and news agencies. It covers the years from approximately 1990 and onwards – depending on when the specific journals and news sites started.
  • Mediestream
    Mediestream provides online access to Det Kgl. Biblioteks digital collections of Danish cultural heritage. So far, it covers newspapers, radio, television as well as commercials. Most of the content is in Danish, so relevant if you need to watch Danish documentaries, commercials or episodes of typical Danish drama series.

  • Factiva
    Database with access to newspapers from all over the world. Partial full text access.

EBooks

A range of EBooks that are relevant to your subject.

See EBooks

  • Oxford New Histories of Philosophy
    Digital collection of book titles published by Oxford University Press. Full text access is provided through kb.dk. It is an essential entry point to literature that recontextualize traditional narratives in philosophy and offers insights into underrepresented female and non-Western philosophers.

  • InteLex Past Masters
    Ebook database that provides access to an array of classical works within philosophy and other areas of study. Contains works by Kant, Beauvoir, Decartes, Hegel, Kirkegaard etc.
  • Cambridge Companions Online
    Online-versions of the acknowledged Cambridge Companions series meant for students. Contains good introductions to classical and central authors, artists, philosophers, topics and periods.

  • Ebook Central
    Ebook database with thousands of e-books in all subject areas.

  • Oxford Scholarship Online
    Grants access to a wide selection of books from Oxford University Press. Only provides full-text access to the subjects that AU Library subscribes to: Classical Studies, Linguistics, Literature, Economics and Finance, Philosophy, Political Science, Law, Sociology, Religion, Biology, and Public Health and Epidemiology.

  • Oxford Reference Online - Premium Collection                   
    Ebook database with a great collection of acknowledged reference works and dictionaries.

Podcasts

A collection of resources where you can find podcasts. 

See Podcasts

Online courses

A collection of Courses that can be relevant for your subject area.

See Cources

AI tools for literature searching

AI search tools can supplement your other literature searches, for example at the beginning or the end of your search process. The tools are constantly evolving and often include both free and paid features. The AI tools search through content from open, scientific archives.

See AI search tools and open archives

AI search tools

  • Elicit
    Ask an academic question in ‘Quick search’ and get an answer based on selected sources from the open archive Semantic Scholar. The answer is supplemented by a table with key points from the sources. Requires a free user profile.
  • Perplexity
    Ask an academic question and get an answer based on selected sources. Choose ‘Academic’ and search within academic sources from the open archive Semantic Scholar and the PubMed database. Create a free user profile to make ‘Pro’ or ’Deep Research’ searches.
  • Ask.orkg.org
    Ask an academic question and get an answer based on selected sources from the open archive Core. The answer is supplemented by a table with key points from the sources.
  • Inciteful
    Enter an article title or DOI and get a network of articles that share citations with the entered article. The citation network is based on content from the open archives OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, Crossref, and OpenCitations.
  • ResearchRabbit
    Enter one or more articles or DOIs and get a network of articles that share citations with the entered articles. The citation network is based on content from open archives such as OpenAlex and Semantic Scholar. Requires a free user profile.

Open archives

Open, scientific archives contain titles, abstracts, and sometimes the full text of a large number of articles, working papers, etc. The content in the open archives is not selected in the same way as in established scientific databases, so reflect critically on your search results. You can search the open archives either via an AI search tool or directly in the archive.

  • OpenAlex
    Retrieves data from sources such as PubMed, arXiv, DOAJ, Unpaywall, Zenodo, and ORCID. 
  • Semantic Scholar
    Retrieves data from sources such as PubMed, arXiv, and publishers like Sage, Springer, Wiley, and Taylor & Francis.
  • Lens
    Retrieves data from sources such as PubMed, OpenAlex, Crossref, and Unpaywall.
  • Core
    Collects metadata and, in many cases, the full text of scientific articles.
  • Crossref
    Collaborates with a wide range of publishers and institutions to provide open metadata, e.g., on articles, books, preprints, datasets, etc.

Libraries within your field of study

Liaison librarians

Karoline Liv Vildlyng

Information Specialist