After buying this book I realized that no single book on philosophy can be given the title "best", just as no single dictionary can. That is because each dictionary has some specialty which another doesn't. In order to get a complete picture, you would have to buy a couple of books on a particular field. As far as this dictionary is concerned, it focuses more on philosophers and philosophical schools than philosophical terms - which I was interested in more. Should any book be called, "Dictionary of Philosophy" when it doesn't even have an entry on "reason" or "intellect"? Furthermore, you won't find the following terms in this book: mind, mutually exclusive, infinite regress, introspection, etc.

Overall, this book does a fine job in presenting an overview of philosophy. I am not saying that this book does a miserable job in terms of including philosophical terms. Rather, let it not be assumed that a single book is sufficient in conveying the complete picture. I say: Buy this book AND others.

This may well be the best dictionary of philosophy available: better value for money than many of its larger competitors. Its secret is that it's well written: one clear paragraph from this book conveys more than pages from more run-of-the-mill dictionaries. A special feature of this book is the self-portraits by major contemporary philosophers: there's enormous value in hearing where they've come from and where they believe they are headed. Briefer, clearer and more memorably written than most histories of philosophy, if you can afford only one reference work in philosophy, put this one on your shelf. You won't regret it. (And for those who already have a shelf-full of philosophy reference works, this is an invaluable addition. The self-portraits alone are worth it.)

The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy is a clear, concise, and comprehensive guide to philosophic terms and thinkers. For this reader, the Penguin edition far surpasses the Oxford dictionary -- a book of roughly the same length and price -- as its entries are both clearer and more thorough. I would advise serioius students of philosphy and "street level" thinkers alike to buy this well-written, useful guide.