Abstract
Philosophy as a separate discipline is a rather new phenomenon. This presents problems for our understanding of what constitutes the history of philosophy. Past writers often approached their concerns from a multi-disciplinary perspective; thus to understand them we have to do more than answer a contemporary set of issues. To that end, I suggest we attend to Locke's advice on how to read a text. Following this advice may permit us to avoid several puzzles which result from misreading a text.
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Yolton, J.W. Is there a history of philosophy? Some difficulties and suggestions. Synthese 67, 3–21 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00485506
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00485506