Suchergebnisse

Intro -- Africa, Asia, and the History of Philosophy: Racism in the Formation of the Philosophical Canon, 1780-1830 -- Contents -- List of Figures -- Acknowledgments -- Preface -- List of Abbreviations -- Introduction -- Chapter 1: The Kantian School and the Consolidation of Modern Historiography of Philosophy -- Chapter 2: The Birth of Comparative History of Philosophy: Joseph-Marie de Gérando's Histoire comparée des systèmes de philosophie -- Chapter 3: India in Friedrich Schlegel's Comparative History of Philosophy -- Chapter 4: The Exclusion of Africa and Asia from the History of Philosophy: The Formation of the Kantian Position -- Chapter 5: Systematic Inclusion of Africa and Asia under Absolute Idealism: Friedrich Ast's and Thaddä Anselm Rixner's Histories of Philosophy -- Chapter 6: Absolute Idealism Reverts to the Kantian Position: Hegel's Exclusion of Africa and Asia -- Chapter 7: The Comparative History of Philosophy in August Tholuck's Polemic against Hegel -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.

This short piece takes a longstanding problem from the history of ideas, viz. the use of contemporary concepts in descriptions of past phenomena, and discusses its implications for broader intellectual history. Scholars have argued that being transparent about anachronism can be a first step towards solving the issue. I would argue, however, that it may actually interfere with proper historical interpretation. As a case study, we shall explore what happens when a modern concept like 'culture' is applied to pre-modern intellectual processes. As the idea of cultural transfer is prominent in recent Jewish historiography, we will focus on exemplary early modern intermediary Menasseh ben Israel, and ask ourselves whether his supposed 'brokerage' (a notion taken from twentieth-century anthropology) brings us closer to understanding his work. As an alternative, I propose 'bricolage,' again a central analytical tool in modern anthropology but, as I hope to show, one with unexpected hermeneutical potential.