Sociological accounts and the history of philosophy

Jorge E. Gracia

pp. 193-211

in: Martin Kusch (ed), The sociology of philosophical knowledge, Berlin, Springer, 2000

Abstract

Professor Martin Kusch has invited me to prepare an overall commentary on this collection of essays. The invitation was prompted, I believe, by his desire to have, in the good Anselmian tradition, a rival point of view to that generally accepted in the volume. The point of view of the volume is that the history of philosophy makes sense only if it is presented in its context, although by context different authors mean different things. Some refer particularly to sociological factors — they see the history of philosophy as the product of social forces — whereas others emphasize cultural, political, and biographical phenomena. These factors include, in Kusch's own words, "professional interests, struggles over professional chairs, wars, and mentalities.' All the authors who have contributed to the volume reject a history of philosophy which ignores the context where it took place, but none goes so far as to reject the usefulness of philosophical analyses in understanding it.

Cited authors

Kusch Martin