Published In
Journal of the Philosophy of History
Document Type
Citation
Publication Date
2019
Subjects
history of ideas; intellectual history; entanglement; emergence; object-oriented ontology; embodiment; idealism; personhood; moral philosophy; ethics
Abstract
The history of ideas is most prominently understood as a highly specialized group of methods for the study of abstract ideas, with both diachronic and synchronic aspects. While theorizing the field has focused on the methods of study, defining the object of study—ideas—has been neglected. But the development of the theories behind material culture studies poses a sharp challenge to this narrow approaches. It both challenges the integrity of the notion of abstract ideas and also offers possibilities for enlarging the scope of the ways we can study ideas historically. It is proposed here to regard ideas as mental relations deeply connected to human communication by both thinking and doing. This connection of ideational thought to human production and behavior is a deep foundation for the history of ideas as an interdisciplinary historiographic means of understanding moral life.
Rights
© Brill
Locate the Document
DOI
10.1163/18722636-12341371
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/32426
Citation Details
Gilbert, B. (2019). Ideas, Persons, and Objects in the History of Ideas. Journal of the Philosophy of History, 13(2), 141-162. https://doi.org/10.1163/18722636-12341371