Philosophy and Its History

This book is a systematic and comprehensive treatment of issues involved in philosophical historiography. It deals with such topics as the relation of philosophy to its history, the role of value judgments in historical accounts, the value of the history of philosophy for philosophy, the nature and role of texts and their interpretation in the history of philosophy, historiographical method, and the stages of development of philosophical progress. The book defends two main theses. The first is that the history of philosophy must be done philosophically, that is, it must include philosophical judgments. The second is that one way to bring a rapprochement between Anglo-American and Continental philosophy is through the study of the history of philosophy and its historiography. An extensive bibliography of pertinent materials and detailed indexes close the book.