The Dictionary of the History of Ideas: Studies of Selected Pivotal Ideas, edited by Philip P. Wiener, was published by Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, in 1973-74. The Dictionary of the History of Ideas also appeared in Chinese- and Japanese-language editions.

However, the DHI has been out of print for many years. Aware of the new potential offered by electronic access to texts, the Directors and Board of Editors of the Journal of the History of Ideas authorized a grant to support digitization of the DHI. Substantial support has also been provided by the University of Virginia Library through its Electronic Text Center. The project has been undertaken with the permission of Charles Scribner’s Sons and of The Gale Group, of which Scribner’s is a part.

We invite those whose curiosity is stimulated by the Dictionary of the History of Ideas to investigate the Library of the History of Ideas (University of Rochester Press), which is made up of topical volumes containing articles previously published in the Journal of the History of Ideas; or to browse in the JHI itself.

Introduction to the Ladder

The ladder theory is a theory of adult male/female interaction. It has its basis in many years of sociological field testing. it was first conceptualized in 1994 in Exeter, CA. My acknowledgements to Jared Whitson for his role in formalizing the theory.