Partial

Hi,
I do know the meaning of "partial" but I cannot understand the meaning of this word here. I mean, I don't know which definition of "partial" is the purpose of writer.


"This book is a summing-up in several ways. It is because I have written it as an expression of my own preferential involvement with the philosophy of love. Here, as in my other writings on this topic, the philosophers I discuss reflect my personal sense of their importance as well as my individual estimation of what they affirm."

Source: The Philosophy of Love: A Partial Summing-Up, By Irving Singer

What do think 'partial' means in the quote?

As the writer says, it is "partial" "in several ways," that is, in multiple senses of the word. It is presumably incomplete (=partial) but also the author is writing from a perspective in which he is not merely an objective observer but is an interested "party." So it is partial in reflecting his viewpoint.

As the first sentence says, he has used it in at least two (several ways). He's playing with the word intentionally.
This is a partial summary. It is incomplete. Perhaps because I only read the first chapter. (This is what the sentence would normally mean.)
This is a partial summary. I really like the author because he thinks the same thing I do (I am partial to the author) so I am biased. (He goes into detail so you will understand that he doesn't mean "incomplete.")