ABSTRACT
There are two main ways of writing the history of thought. On the one hand there is what might be called the 'narrative' way, which simply sets out to show the passage of ideas from one thinker to another, and to tell in epic fashion the story of their development. On the other hand there is the way with which we want to experiment, which is based on the recently developed sociology of knowledge. Different styles of thought developed along party lines, so that we can speak of 'liberal' and 'conservative' styles of thought, to which we shall later have to add the 'socialist' style. Social differentiation reflects itself not only in different currents of thought but also in a differentiation, on a more general plane, within the mental climate of the age. Not only thought, but even the ways in which people experience things emotionally, vary with their position in society.
