How to Locate Materials on this Topic
Here are some guidelines on how to find materials on fatalism. Since this is an academically oriented rresearch guide, Library of Congress subject headings and call numbers are used.
I. Subject Headings
The most relevant Library of Congress subject headings for finding materials on fatalism, are:
- DETERMINISM (Philosophy)
- FATE & fatalism
- FATE & fatalism -- Religious aspects
- FREE will & determinism
- GOD -- Omniscience
- PREDESTINATION
II. Databases (to top)
To maximize the relevance of search results it is best to search in a subject specific index or database, rather than in general databases like Academic Search Premier or Web of Knowledge. The two best databases for this topic are:
- The Philosopher's Index. Bowling Green, OH: Philosopher’s Information Center. A bibliographic database with abstracts covering scholarly research in philosophy from 1940–present. Contains over 540,000 records from over 1400 journals collected from 85 countries in 39 langauges. Updated quarterly. Available electronically: http://www.libraries.iub.edu/scripts/countResources.php?resourceId=38606. Also available in print: ISSN 0031-7993; LC call no. Z7127.P473.
Probably the best database to start with. More relevant material on philosophical and theological aspects of fatalism is indexed here than anywhere else.
- ATLA Religion Database. Chicago, IL: The American Theological Library Association. The premier index of journal articles, book reviews, and essays collections on religion, with coverage from 1949–present and retrospective indexing for some journals as far back as the 19th century. Contains over 1,780,000 records. Updated quarterly. Available electronically: http://www.libraries.iub.edu/scripts/countResources.php?resourceId=586899.
This database is a good source for materials on how specific religious traditions (Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, etc.) have grappled with fatalism.
III. Keyword Searching (to top)
In addition to, or perhaps in lieu of, a subject search, it may be helpful to try a "keyword anywhere" search on common buzzwords in the scholarly literature. The following terms are more-or-less specific to this research niche, and so they may yield highly relevant results:
- future contingent
- logical determinism
- logical fatalism
- metaphysical fatalism
- theological compatibilism
- theological determinism
- theological fatalism
- theological incompatibilism
IV. Browsing Areas (to top)
Because the topic of fatalism touches upon many different areas in philosophy and theology, relevant materials are somewhat scattered throughout the B–BX section of the library. Nevertheless, the following sections are more-or-less exclusively devoted to fatalism and closely related topics:
- BJ1460–1468, and especially BJ1460–1461, contains a high concentration of materials on free will, fatalism, and determinism.
- BT130–135, and especially BT130–131, contain a high concentration of materials on the problem of divine foreknowledge and future contingents.