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The coverage of ethical theory as pursued among English-speaking philosophers remains the scope of this set. Entries are listed in word-by-word alphabetical order. A list of entries gives a convenient overview of headwords and see references. A subject index provides a guide to subjects discussed in the text of the entries, including persons; and a citation index provides an author-by-author listing of writers, and some editors, cited in the bibliographies of all 581 entries.
In their introduction, the editors note that the second edition has been both revised and expanded by more than 30 percent. They also claim that almost all of the 435 entries from the first edition have been retained but that many have been substantially revised; "where appropriate and possible," bibliographies have also been updated. In this new edition more than 300 specialists are responsible for 581 signed entries, 150 of which are new. A list of contributors and editors provides brief biographical information about these individuals.
Although entries are consistently highly accessible and readable, a careful comparison of entries across editions reveals two principal shortcomings. First, revisions are not always "substantial"--even when substantial revision may have been warranted. The article Abortion is an example. Second, most bibliographies have not been updated. The bibliography accompanying the entry Academic freedom, for example, includes only one reference published in the 1980s and none from the 1990s. Likewise, the bibliography accompanying the entry Ethics in government has no references published in the 1990s. On the other hand, the entry on genocide has been updated to include mention of Bosnia and Rwanda, and the accompanying bibliography lists several resources published in the 1990s. The real value of this edition lies in the 150 new entries, among them Cheating, Gay ethics, Genetic engineering, Islamic ethics, Multiculturalism, Political correctness, and Racism, concepts of, to name just a few.
Is this encyclopedia an essential purchase? Yes, despite the shortcomings noted, especially for large public and academic libraries. Libraries that own the first edition will want to replace it with the second. RBB
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