Philosophical Mode of Analysis

The remainder of the book concentrates on different ways of studying political theory. At the risk of considerable oversimplification, two ‘pure’ modes or approaches can be identified: the philosophical and the historical . In reality, scholarly endeavours lie somewhere between the two ideal types, most being closer to the philosophical than to the historical. This chapter generalizes about the philosophical mode from the critical perspective of my version of the historical approach outlined in the next chapter. Chapter 7 is my estimate of the value for studying political theory of one variety of the historical mode, Marxism, which today in a time of capitalist triumphalism and socialist decline is in my opinion unjustifiably belittled and increasingly discounted. Although my preference for the historical over the philosophical will become progressively apparent, the evaluation of the latter should certainly not be misconstrued as completely negative or unreasonably dismissive. The two modes are by no means antithetical in spite of my criticism of philosophy and the philosophical. Each approach can fruitfully supplement the other, and when joined together can make the most rewarding contribution to the examination of political theory. My sole purpose has been to make a case for more historical analysis and to right what I take to be an intellectual imbalance: a prejudice in contemporary scholarship in favour of the philosophical mode, although some of it passes as historical. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.