ABSTRACT
Among academic disciplines, philosophy stands in a unique relation to its own history. In any other subject old enough to have a history, it is generally true that the activities of its long-dead practitioners do not have any substantial interest for current workers in the field. A phlogiston chemist, for example, or a ‘catastrophist’ geologist entering a university department today would provoke mirth and curiosity, but no more than that. He would have nothing useful to contribute to the ‘cutting-edge’ advancement of the subject; nor, in all likelihood, would he be able even to understand its recent developments. He would not be treated in any sense as a colleague.
