Dictionary is a hypertext of alphabetically arranged terms and
ideas in English or Dutch.
For a brief explanation why
it exists, see Introduction.
The basic principle of it is quite simple:
It is a hypertext
dictionary of terms,
Dictionary is a hypertext of alphabetically arranged terms and
ideas in English or Dutch.
For a brief explanation why
it exists, see Introduction.
The basic principle of it is quite simple:
It is a hypertext
dictionary of terms, arranged alphabetically, linked at many places to
other items in the dictionary, written in one or the other of the two
languages I know best, which are Dutch and English, to a large extent
where it is original derived from my own writings, published and
unpublished, and otherwise based on the best sources I have access to.
The four main differences with other
dictionaries, philosophical or not, are that
1. This dictionary is a vehicle for
publishing my own ideas and values
2. It relies much on the principles of
hypertext - with which the reader must be familiar from the internet,
and may know about in the form of html or xml, which are specific
well-known hypertext formats; and
3. the entries may vary much in length, and
occassionally - especially when I talk of Dutch circumstances - may be
4. At various places I use logic or
mathematics, and I do so to a larger extent than other philosophical
dictionaries or encyclopedias.
As for my own ideas and values:
See the Introduction
and read the Dictionary.
As to hypertext:
The basic principle is that this concerns text read with the help of a
computer which makes it possible to put links in text (or pictures
etc.) that when clicked directly pop up another text (or pictures etc.)
This enables another way of reading through large
hypertexts made up of many files, such as the Philosophical Dictionary,
because one needs to spend no time finding things, and each new subject
can be given its own file, and be written and maintained apart from the
rest of the hypertext, to any part of which it may be linked at any
convenient term or place.
So it should all be quite easy to read as you
please, provided you are connected to the internet or have a CD with
the Philosophical Dictionary.
As to logic and mathematics: Most of it
is explained somewhere in the Dictionary, but you can
skip it without loosing much, also because I normally provide English
translations for the formulas I use.
To help you to read through the Philosophical Dictionary,
or such parts as interest you, there are
- a list of
terms and ideas, where a lot is explained, or where start many
links to other entries
- a list of recent entries
to the Dictionary with links
- a complete alphabetical
index of both
English and Dutch terms (and such terms in other languages that
may occur) and separate indexes for English and
- a list of categories
with selected entries in these categories, since every entry in the
Dictionary will be classified as belonging to at least one category