Texts in Context, 1985
Revisionist Methods for Studying the History of Ideas
Martinus Nijhoff Philosophy Library Series, Vol. 12

The methodology of the study of the history of political thought is an area of study which has occupied my interests for nearly a decade. I was introduced to the subject in University College, Swansea. My teachers there provided me with an excellent grounding in political studies. I am particularly indebted to Bruce Haddock, Peter Nicholson and W. H. Greenleaf. Professor Greenleaf was kind enough to supply me with a copy of his bibliography and copies of two of his unpublished papers. I continued to pursue my interest in methodology at the London School of Economics and Political Science. I am indebted to Ken Minogue and Robert Orr who taught me there. My greatest debt is to Dr. Joseph Femia ofthe University of Liverpool who devoted a great deal of time to considering the arguments presented here. His criticisms and suggestions for improvement proved to be invaluable. I would also like to thank Alan Ryan for his general comments and encouraging advice. It would be remiss of me if I neglected to express my gratitude to Dewi Beynon who was my first teacher of politics. The research for this project was carried out in the following places; The British Library of Political Science, London; The Sidney Jones Library, University of Liverpool; The National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh; The Main Library, University of Edinburgh; The Arts and Social Science Library, University College, Cardiff; and the Bodleian Library, Oxford.

History, Historicism, and Hermeneutics.- One British Idealism and the Philosophy of History: Sources of Sustenance.- Two Historians of Political Thought and Their Critics: Sources of Anxiety.- Three Philosophical History: W.H. Greenleaf and the Study of the History of Political Thought.- Four The Priority of Paradigms: The Pocock Alternative.- Five The View from the Inside: Skinner and the Priority of Retrieving Authorial Intentions.- Assessment and Conclusion.