The goal of Oxford Philosophical Concepts is to offer historically sound accounts of central concepts in the history of philosophy. Each volume is a history of its concept written by eminent scholars. Each traces the concept’s original inception through its transformations to its modern use. Each presents the underlying problems that the concept was supposed to solve and explains how approaches to the concept – and sometimes the concept itself – shifted in order to solve those problems. Each volume’s editor is responsible to set its focus, gather the best international scholars as contributors, and organize a workshop for its authors. Volumes include lexicons and thorough indices.
Recent scholarship has made evident the benefits of reexamining the standard narrative about the history of western philosophy and broadening our philosophical sources. Editors are encouraged to rethink conventional periodizations and reconsider contributions by women and by Islamic, Judaic, and other traditions. One of the most innovative features of OPC is its recognition of the rich relation that art, architecture, music, literature, science, religion, and other cultural practices have with philosophy. Historians in all fields flirt with philosophical ideas, while historians of philosophy have learned the philosophical benefits of greater contextualization. OPC Reflections speak to this need for smart interdisciplinary exchange between philosophy and non-philosophical materials. OUP expects the series to have a broad international appeal and will publish the books as inexpensive paperbacks and include them in OUP’s subscription-based digital archive, Oxford Scholarship Online. OPC volumes will interest students and scholars across academic fields and historical periods
