Article(print)1996

Blind Alleys: Historical Contextualism Revisited

In: Politics, Volume 16, Issue 3, p. 187-198

King, Preston

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Abstract

Examines historical contextualism, a methodological claim that valid history is only demonstrated via the reconstruction of a context (ie, a perspective) regarding the text being studied. It is argued that contextualism is logically futile since no observer or researcher can form a perspective on any text without somehow altering it, thereby changing the context under examination. Further, as a form of relativism, historical contextualism denies that morality can enter into historical study & thereby render the history of thought seemingly irrelevant to contemporary moral issues. It is concluded that, while contextualism requires that history be viewed in its original context, history should be informed by modern perspectives as well. 17 References. Adapted from the source document.

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