The Account and the Explanation of the Historical Development

2021 ◽  
pp. 106-114
Author(s):  
Michael Frede
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Focus Of Attention ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
History Of ◽  
Way Of Thinking

This chapter explores the account and the explanation of the historical development of philosophy. It was only at the end of the eighteenth century that this development itself became the focus of attention, and thus the phrase ‘history of philosophy’ came to take on the now familiar meaning of an account of the historical development of philosophy from its beginning to the present day. What characterizes the historian’s approach to the historical development of philosophy is that they refuse to resort to such philosophical assumptions about philosophy, about history, and about the history of philosophy to understand and to explain this historical development. The historian tries to understand and to explain it, as well as it can be explained, purely in terms of historical facts, facts which can be ascertained on the basis of the available historical evidence. Meanwhile, if one is concerned with the factual development of philosophy, one should focus on the fact that sometimes, when a philosopher does something, this affects other philosophers, who take notice of what he or she is doing in such a way that, as a result of their taking note of what the philosopher is doing, they modify their way of thinking about things philosophically, which, in turn, might make some difference to the further course of the history of philosophy. In this way, later philosophical activity is shaped or influenced by earlier activity.

ACTION ON MATTER: THE HISTORY OF THE UNIQUELY AFRICAN TAMPER AND CONCAVE ANVIL POT-FORMING TECHNIQUE

2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Sterner ◽  
Nicholas David
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
Weight Ratio ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Efficient Production ◽  
Arid Environments ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
Culture History ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Diffusion

The publication, largely by ethnoarchaeologists, of new data on the tamper and concave anvil technique of pot-forming (TCA) permits a reassessment of this uniquely African technique, its toolkit, and its culture history. A survey, inspired by the technologie culturelle school, of its varied expressions in the southern Saharan, Sahelian and northern Sudan zones from Mali to Sudan and extending north into Egypt emphasises the potential of the technique for the efficient production of spherical water jars of high volume to weight ratio, much appreciated in arid environments. The technique is demanding and therefore practised for the most part by specialists. The origins and diffusion of the technique are assessed in the light of the ethnological, archaeological, linguistic, and historical evidence, and a four stage historical development is sketched.

Some Evaluations

1970 ◽  
pp. 129-146
Author(s):  
Francis E. Reilly
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Theoretical Knowledge ◽  
Personal Attitude ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Personal Philosophy

This chapter evaluates two aspects of Peirce's thought: his Greek insistence on the primacy of theoretical knowledge, and his almost Teilhardian synthesis of evolutionary themes. It reflects the author's own personal attitude toward both of these topics in Peirce, which is one of endorsement, though some criticisms are also offered. Concerning the first aspect, Peirce was not only an outstanding philosopher but also a man well acquainted with the history of philosophy. His knowledge of history, going back to Plato, Aristotle, and other Greeks, contributed to the formation of his own personal philosophy. One obvious Greek attitude that he made his own was the dedication to theoretical knowledge. On the second topic, the chapter argues that Peirce understood evolution as one of the chief characteristics of the world. It is not restricted to the biological sphere, but extends to the whole cosmos and to the historical development of science. In proposing this synthetic, post-Darwinian view of evolution, Peirce was decades ahead of his time.

SYMPATHY, DIFFERENCE, AND EDUCATION: SOCIAL UNITY IN THE WORK OF ADAM SMITH

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
JACK RUSSELL WEINSTEIN
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
Psychological Distance ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Biological Difference ◽  
Race And Class ◽  
Social Unity ◽  
History Of ◽  
Do So

In this article, I examine Adam Smith's theory of the ways individuals in society bridge social and biological difference. In doing so, I emphasize the divisive effects of gender, race, and class to see if Smith's account of social unity can overcome such fractious forces. My discussion uses the metaphor of “proximity” to mean both physical and psychological distance between moral actors and spectators. I suggest that education – both formal and informal in means – can assist moral judgment by helping agents minimize the effects of proximity, and, ultimately, learn commonality where difference may otherwise seem overwhelming. This article uses the methods of the history of philosophy in order to examine an issue within contemporary discourse. While I seek to offer an authentic reading of Smith representative of his eighteenth-century perspective, I do so with an eye towards determining the extent to which Smith anticipated central issues in modern multiculturalism.

HOW THE STOICS BECAME ATHEISTS

2006 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 387-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTOPHER BROOKE
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Critical History ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ralph Cudworth ◽  
The Way

In the middle of the seventeenth century, scholarship on ancient Stoicism generally understood it to be a form of theism. By the middle of the eighteenth century, Stoicism was widely (though not universally) reckoned a variety of atheism, both by its critics and by those more favourably disposed to its claims. This article describes this transition, the catalyst for which was the controversy surrounding Spinoza's philosophy, and which was shaped above all by contemporary transformations in the historiography of philosophy. Particular attention is paid to the roles in this story played by Thomas Gataker, Ralph Cudworth, J. F. Buddeus, Jean Barbeyrac, and J. L. Mosheim, whose contributions collectively helped to shape the way in which Stoicism was presented in two of the leading reference works of the Enlightenment, J. J. Brucker's Critical History of Philosophy and the Encyclopédie of Diderot and d'Alembert.

Music from Heaven

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Cron
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
History Of ◽  
Early Eighteenth Century ◽  
Way Of Thinking

This chapter provides an eighteenth-century context for Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantatas with obbligato organ by showing how their various components engage in a larger discourse about the German Baroque organ: namely, its intimation of Heaven. There are almost 200 surviving church cantatas by Bach, eighteen of which contain movements where the organist transitions from a continuo player to a concertist. Modern scholarship has considered such compositions primarily from two perspectives: a historiographical perspective, which places them in the larger context of the history of the keyboard concerto; and a compositional perspective, which considers them as examples of the arrangement and reworking of previous musical material. This chapters examines how a particular yet widespread way of thinking about the organ gave rise to a fruitful context for the obbligato organ cantata in the early eighteenth century by analyzing Bach’s works from the perspective of an original listener—that is, as a member of the congregation. It argues that Bach’s libretto guided his instrumentation and that he often took advantage of the longstanding identification of the organ with Heaven.

The Study of Ancient Philosophy

2021 ◽  
pp. 139-163
Author(s):  
Michael Frede
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
Ancient Philosophy ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Historical Importance ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Many

This chapter reflects on the study of ancient philosophy. Ancient philosophy can be studied in many ways. The thoughts of ancient philosophers are of great interest not just as philosophical thoughts; many of them, in one way or another, are also of great historical importance. They help to explain a great many historical facts, not just in the history of philosophy but in many other histories. Or they are reflections of some historical development we may be interested in; again, this may be a development in the history of philosophy or in some other history, even one that at first may seem to have very little to do with philosophy. Thus, there are many approaches to the thought of ancient philosophers, all of which contribute to a better understanding of it. One can pursue each of the many histories in which ancient philosophy, either as a whole or in part, plays a role and try to determine what this role is in a manner appropriate for the history in question. Indeed, one reason why the study of ancient philosophy is so attractive and so lively is that it allows for so many interests and approaches.

The Historian

2021 ◽  
pp. 55-66
Author(s):  
Michael Frede
Keyword(s):  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
Archaeological Remains ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
Historical Method ◽  
Plausible Account ◽  
Contemporary Philosopher ◽  
History Of ◽  
Considerable Controversy ◽  
Special Competence

This chapter focuses on the historian of philosophy. There is a certain amount of historical evidence in the case of philosophy, mainly in the form of texts, or rather copies thereof, but also of inscriptions or even of archaeological remains. The historian has to collect this evidence, evaluate it, and reconstruct, on its basis, a history which is sufficiently supported by it to make it difficult, if not impossible, to think of an equally plausible, or even more plausible, account that fits the evidence as well. The difficulty is not only that it has become a matter of considerable controversy whether there actually is one characteristic way in which historians ought to go about their business and which way this may be. It also should give one pause for thought that, in fact, general historians do not write history of philosophy. This suggests that the historiography of philosophy is not just a matter of applying the historical method to a particular history. Clearly, the most important point here is that it takes some special competence to write the history of a discipline. Having the competence of a contemporary philosopher allows one to tell which arguments are acceptable and which are not.

The Deleuze-Lucretius Encounter

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan J. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Gilles Deleuze ◽  
Ancient Philosophy ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Way Of Thinking

This book explores how Deleuze's thought was shaped by Lucretian atomism — a formative but often-ignored influence from ancient philosophy. More than any other 20th-century philosopher, Gilles Deleuze considers himself an apprentice to the history of philosophy. But scholarship has ignored one of the more formative influences on Deleuze: Lucretian atomism. Deleuze's encounter with Lucretius sparked a way of thinking that resonates throughout all his writings: from immanent ontology to affirmative ethics, from dynamic materialism to the generation of thought itself. Filling a significant gap in Deleuze Studies, this book tells the story of the Deleuze-Lucretius encounter that begins and ends with a powerful claim: Lucretian atomism produced Deleuzianism.

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