Doing Philosophy Historically

Review of Metaphysics 56 (4):779 - 800 (2003)
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Abstract

Some philosophers claim to "do philosophy historically." They study philosophers of the past not just to discover what they thought, but as a way of advancing their own philosophical agendas. In this paper, I offer an account of what it means to do philosophy historically. First, I examine a number of current views of the matter, and explain why I find them inadequate. Next, I ask what kind of understanding can be gained from a study of history. I do so by drawing on John Herman Randall's discussion of the "genetic method." Finally, I extend Randall's discussion of the genetic method to philosophy, and use it to explain how a study of past philosophy might teach philosophical lessons. I also ask what assumptions we must make about philosophy if we are to learn such lessons, and I argue that these assumptions are plausible

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Robert Piercey
University of Regina

Citations of this work

What is a Post-Hegelian Kantian?Robert Piercey - 2007 - Philosophy Today 51 (1):26-38.
Preface and introduction.A. Chakrabarty - 1994 - In A. Chakrabarti & B. K. Matilal (eds.), Synthese. Kluwer Academic Publishers. pp. 5-9.

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