How this site is made

The Long Conversation is a timeline of world philosophy. It has 144 philosophers, from the Western (90), Jewish (6), Arabic and Islamic (12), Indian (14), Chinese (16) and Japanese (6) traditions, with 29 schools and 10 themes that trace one question across traditions. This page explains how its entries are chosen, written and checked, and where it still falls short.

Who is included

A person has an entry if a reputable reference work in philosophy treats them as a philosopher in their own right: a dedicated entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy or the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, or a chapter in a scholarly history of their tradition. A passing mention doesn't count. Scientists, theologians and writers qualify on the same test, and are written about for their philosophy. Figures whose historical existence is disputed are included when their tradition treats them as authors, and their entries say so. Anonymous texts, such as the Upanishads, don't have entries of their own.

Each philosopher is ranked major, notable or other, judged within their own tradition rather than against the world. On the timeline, the third tier is shown when you expand a period.

Sources

Every entry lists its sources at the foot of the page, most often the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, and every fact in it is checked against them. Wikipedia and Wikidata can suggest who to add next, but they are never cited as sources. Where sources disagree about a date, the entry follows its cited source, marks the date as approximate and says why.

In our own words

Entries are written for curious readers who aren't specialists, in plain language and British English. They summarise their sources rather than copy them: an automated check compares new and edited entries with the pages of the sources they cite, and flags any stretch of wording repeated from them. Where the exact words matter, they are quoted and credited.

Quotes

Each quote is checked word for word against the work itself, either a free text or a scholarly source that quotes it, and its location is given in the usual form, such as a Stephanus number for Plato. A translator is named only when the translation or the source names them. When a source quotes a translation without saying whose it is, the credit reads “translation as quoted by” the source's author, rather than guessing. Words known only through a later writer say who reported them. Where no well-attested line can be checked, an entry has no quote.

Dates

Many dates before the modern era are approximate, and they are shown that way: “c.” means about, and “fl.” gives the years someone is known to have been active when their birth isn't known. On the timeline, a bar with a faded end marks an approximate date. Because far more philosophers lived in recent centuries, the timeline draws time larger from 1400, and a marker shows where the scale changes.

Influences

One philosopher is linked to another when a cited source says they studied with, drew on, developed or argued against the other's work. Holding similar views, or belonging to the same school, isn't enough on its own. Each philosopher's own list is kept to the strongest links; the list of those they influenced is worked out from everyone else's entries.

Portraits

Portraits are used only when they are in the public domain or openly licensed (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA), and they are credited as their licences require. Few ancient or medieval philosophers have an authentic likeness, so most portraits are later imaginings, and their captions say so. Where there is no suitable image, a monogram is shown instead.

Free texts

Key works link to free copies at Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks or Wikisource, but only where the text is in the public domain in both the United Kingdom and the United States: its author, translator and editors died more than 70 years ago, and it was published more than 95 years ago.

What isn't here yet

The site grows in phases, and it has clear gaps. 90 of its 144 philosophers are Western. There is no African philosophy yet, and no Korean, Tibetan or Latin American philosophy. Only 1 philosopher born after 1930 has an entry, and women are under-represented in every tradition. These are the priorities for the next phase.

Corrections

If you find a mistake, or think someone is missing, please email rory@rorypringle.com.