Library Guides: Philosophy: Primary Sources

Finding Primary Sources

The Library subscribes to many online databases that contain primary sources. You can browse these databases through the links below.

Email the Subject Specialist listed on this page for suggestions.

Database Finder
You can browse by subject or content to find the resource that's right for you.
Research Guides by Subject
Browse the "Primary Sources" tab of the various Research Guides to find resources in a particular field of study.

Primary Sources in Philosophy

Alexander Street Press: Philosophers & Thinkers
documentaries

Bibliothque virtuelle des manuscrits mdivaux (BVMM)

This site allows you to view the reproduction of a wide selection of manuscripts from the Middle Ages to the early Renaissance, preserved in heritage collections scattered throughout the French territory, except those of the Bibliothque nationale de France.
British Philosophy: 1600-1900

List of Editions InteLex (UofC-Access Only)
Corpus des oeuvres de philosophie en langue franaise

Le Corpus des oeuvres de philosophie en langue franaise contains the works of philosophers writing in the French language from the Renaissance to 1966.
Digitale Bibliothek Deutscher Klassiker

Online version of the Bibliothek Deutscher Klassiker's authoritative editions of over thirty authors, including early German texts such as Lancelot and Ginover and Wolfram von Eschenbach, editions of important authors such as Herder, Kleist, and Bchner, and the works of philosophers such as Kant, Schleiermacher, and Fichte. Collections of historical, philosophical, theological, political and art history texts add context and background material.

Docuseek: Philosophy
Documentaries that engage philosophy, critical thinking, and ethics

Early English Books Online

Early English Books Online (EEBO) features page images of almost every work printed in the British Isles and North America, as well as works in English printed elsewhere from 1470-1700. Over 200 libraries worldwide have contributed to EEBO. From the first book printed in English through to the ages of Spenser, Shakespeare and of the English Civil War, EEBO's content draws on authoritative and respected short-title catalogues of the period and features a substantial number of text transcriptions specially created for the product.
Early European Books

Diverse array of printed sources from the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries. Opens the door to some of the world's most significant collections of early printed books. All works printed in Europe before 1701, regardless of language, fall within the scope of the project, together with all pre-1701 works in European languages printed further afield.
We have access to Collections 1-6, and 12,
Collection 15: Revolution and Reformation: Science and Religion in the Early Modern Period
Collection 17: Statecraft and Law in Early Modern France
Collection 18: History & Chronicles from the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal
Collection 19: Voyages & Imagination Travel
Collection 20: French Spiritual Life: Religious renewal in early modern France
Collection 21: Peace and Governance
Collection 23: Education, Society and Cultural Life

Collected Works of Author

Most critical editions are in print. Search for author and publisher in the Library catalog to find specific editions.

Most correspondences are published in individual volumes. Search the SUBJECT field for the author and "correspondence." For example, see "Arendt, Hannah 1906-1975 Correspondence." The University Archives include unpublished correspondence with Hannah Arendt.

Intelex Past Masters
Digitized critical editions
Mostly German, British, and American philosophers

InteLex Corporations Past Masters series encompasses the largest collection of primary source full-text electronic editions in philosophy in the world. The series includes significant collections in the history of political thought and theory, religious studies, education, German studies, sociology, the history and philosophy of science, economics, and classics. InteLex acquires and develops definitive editions of the full corpora of the seminal figures in the history of the human sciences, including published and unpublished works, articles, essays, reviews, and correspondence.
From their website

American Philosophy online
collections from Intelex Past Masters
Includes John Dewey's works, lectures, and correspondence

Cambridge University Press Textbooks
Includes English translations of major Philosophers and introductions to subfields of philosophy

Leo Strauss Courses: Audio & Transcripts
& more less...

Audio files and transcripts of Strauss’s courses

Maimonides’ Medical Works Online

Maimonides’ Medical Works Online is the online edition of the book series The Medical Works of Moses Maimonides. It provides versions of all the medical works by the rabbi, philosopher and medical doctor Moses Maimonides.

Marx, Selected Writings
Library catalog record for print book

Montaigne, Les Essais - The Montaigne Project

Full text searching of Montaigne's Essais with page images from the Bordeaux Copy.

Les Oeuvres de Simone Weil
Plato, Complete Works
edited by John M. Cooper
ebook

Workshops in Philosophy

Below are primary sources arranged by subject following the Workshops in Philosophy.

These lists are not meant to be comprehensive. If you can't find what you need, please contact Anne K. Knafl, aknafl@uchicago.edu.

Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy

See the Classics research guide for more information.

Aristoteles Latinus Database

The complete corpus of medieval Greek-Latin translations of the works of Aristotle as published in the printed work, Aristoteles Latinus. Limit of 1 simultaneous user(s).
Digital Loeb Classical Library

Loeb Classical Library in electronic form, which includes more than 520 volumes of Classical Greek and Latin literature.
Library of Latin Texts (BTL & CLCLT)
Available within the Cross Database Searchtool

Database contains texts from the beginning of Latin literature through to the texts of the Second Vatican Council. Covers all the works from the classical period up to the 2nd century C.E./A.D; the most important patristic works starting around 200 C.E./A.D. with Tertullian, ending with the death of Venerable Bede in 735; a very extensive corpus of Medieval Latin literature as well as works of recentior latinitas - texts taken from the Corpus Christianorum series and from many other leading editions; and, Neo-Latin literature (1501-1962) including decrees from the modern ecumenical Church councils up to Vatican II, and translations into Latin of important sixteenth-century works.
Perseus under PhiloLogic

Including Greek texts, Latin texts, commentaries, encyclopedias, dictionaries, grammars and grammar lookup, dictionary lookup, commentary finder, and parser.

Oxford Scholarly Editions--Ancient Greek

German Philosophy

Consult the Germanic Literature research guide for more resources.

Cambridge Edition of the Works of Immanuel Kant
some print, some ebooks

Digitale Bibliothek Deutscher Klassiker

Online version of the Bibliothek Deutscher Klassiker's authoritative editions of over thirty authors, including early German texts such as Lancelot and Ginover and Wolfram von Eschenbach, editions of important authors such as Herder, Kleist, and Bchner, and the works of philosophers such as Kant, Schleiermacher, and Fichte. Collections of historical, philosophical, theological, political and art history texts add context and background material.

Hegel's works @UChicago Library
Library catalog search for works by Hegel translated to English
some print, some ebooks

Nietzsche Source

A web site containing Digitale Kritische Gesamtausgabe Werke und Briefe (Digital Critical Edition of Nietzsche's Works and Letters) and scholarship on Nietzsche's work and life.

PhilPapers: Metaphysics
A bibliography of works related to Metaphysics arranged into subfields

Schillers Werke

Comprises the complete works of Friedrich von Schiller (1759 - 1805), including his poetry and plays, the translations, minor prose works, historical and philosophical writings, letters to and from Schiller and the Conversations.

Schillers Werke is the electronic edition of the Nationalausgabe of Schiller's works. The Nationalausgabe was established in 1940 as the definitive edition of his works, letters and conversations. The edition now comprises fifty-six volumes, with six more in preparation.

Law and Philosophy

Consult the Law Library research guides for more information

Dewey Lectures in Law and Philosophy
& more less...

Established in 1981 with an endowment from the John Dewey Foundation, this lecture was named after the premier American philosopher and educator “to honor a social philosopher so intimately connected with the history of the University.”

Fastcase

Includes federal and state cases (including tax, claims, and bankruptcy courts), statutes, and regulations. Fastcase also provides access to a newspaper archive, legal forms, and a one-stop PACER search of federal filings through their content partners.

Hart's The Concept of Law
multiple copies, print and ebook

HeinOnline

Searchable full text, page images, and PDF versions of law journal articles from the first issue to the present, plus the Federal Register from 1936 to 1980, U.S. Supreme Court opinions from 1754 to the present, and U.S. treaties from 1776 to the present.

Law and Philosophy @UChicago Library
Catalog search for books on law and philosophy, published after 2000.

Making of the Modern World

Covers the history of Western trade, encompassing the coal, iron, and steel industries, the railway industry, the cotton industry, banking and finance, and the emergence of the modern corporation. It is also strong in the rise of the modern labor movement, the evolving status of slavery, the condition and making of the working class, colonization, the Atlantic world, Latin American/Caribbean studies, social history, gender, and the economic theories that championed and challenged capitalism in the nineteenth century. Part I: The Goldsmiths'-Kress Collection, 1450-1850, Part II: 1851-1914, Part III: 1890–1945, Part IV: 1800-1890.
VitalLaw

Includes primary sources and secondary sources for antitrust, corporate and securities, banking, intellectual property, and tax law, including the Federal Securities Law Reporter, the Trade Regulation Reporter, Standard Federal Tax Reporter, U.S. Tax Treaties Reporter, and many other looseleaf services, treatises, guides, and newsletters.

Practical Philosophy & Theoretical Philosophy

A list of example searches in the Library catalog as well as databases to use to find books and articles on specific topics.

Logic @UChicago Library
Catalog subject search for philosophy titles on logic.
Mathematics @UChicago Library
research gudie

Philosopher's Index

Contains citations and abstracts covering scholarly research in the field of philosophy. Covers all major articles from anthologies and books in English, Spanish, German, Italian, and French as well as 480 journals from 38 countries.
Philpapers

PhilPapers is a comprehensive directory of online philosophy articles and books by academic philosophers. We monitor journals in many areas of philosophy, as well as archives and personal pages. We also accept articles directly from users, who can provide links or upload copies

"Practical Philosophy" @UChicago Library
Catalog search for "practical philosophy."

Published Works of Ludwig Wittgenstein

The Published Works of Ludwig Wittgenstein, edited by Professors Hans Kaal and Alastair McKinnon and published by InteLex Corporation is based on various printed editions of Wittgenstein's works. Front matter and notes have not been included; illustrations have.

"Theoretical Philosophy" @UChicago Library
Library catalog search for "theoretical philosophy."

Philosophy of Religions & Ethics

The Divinity School has student clubs in Philosophy related areas, including Religion & Philosophy and Religious Ethics.

Black Thought and Culture (BLTC)

Over 400 sources by African American authors, including monographs, essays, articles, speeches, and interviews written by leaders within the black community from the earliest times to 1975.
Christian Classics Ethereal Library

Features the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, provided by Calvin College and maintained by Harry Plantinga. Includes an author index of the works available. Notes that the texts are in the public domain.

East Asian Studies @UChicago Library
& more less...

Includes links to Chinese, Korean, and Japanese Studies guides

Global Health and Human Rights Database

"Fully searchable online database of more than 1000 judgments, constitutions and international instruments on the intersection between health and human rights." Produced by the Lawyers Collective and the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law.
Oxford Bibliographies Online: Buddhism

Regularly updated annotated bibliography addressing themes and topics in Buddhism

Southern Asia
Southern Asia Resources at the University of Chicago

Twentieth Century Religious Thought

Twentieth Century Religious Thought is a multivolume, cross-searchable online collection that brings together the seminal works and archival materials related to worldwide religious thinkers, from the early 1900s until the turn of the 21st century.
Women's Studies Archive: Voice and Vision

Women's Studies Archive connects archival collections concerning women's history from across the globe and from a wide range of sources. Focusing on the evolution of feminism throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the archive provides materials on women's political activism, such as suffrage, birth control, pacifism, civil rights, and socialism, and on women's voices, from female-authored literature to women's periodicals.

Subject Specialist

Anne Knafl

she/her

Send Email

Contact:

Joseph Regenstein Library 464

Subjects: Humanities, Jewish Studies, Philosophy, Religion