La storia nella storia della filosofia

The Author starts with posing some radical questions: what makes philosophy historical? Are its (historical) transformations originated intrinsically, extrinsically or in both dimensions? If they were at least extrinsically aroused, would we have a complete exposition of them if we did not take into account this extrinsic dimension (which would still be decisive, at least in the last instance)? And more generally, what makes a social reality historical? Finally, hypothesizing a philosophy in a society without history, is it possible that it transforms itself independently of its context? The answers given to these questions show that the history of philosophy is above all the context in which it arises. In this sense, philosophy is historical as it is inserted in the historical context that nourishes, crosses and urges it. The history of philosophy, consequently, is its present. Historicity, in other words, is given to philosophy from its context and a history of philosophy could not fail to take this into account. That means that the present philosophy has in any case its history (not only in that it has a past) and that history is in any case present when one “does” philosophy and that whoever “does” philosophy it does not escape from the context. In conclusion, it is argued that one must develop a perspective look in the history of Philosophy – a look that, decentralizing the author, looks at the philosophical texts taking in account first of all the questions they answer, those they arouse and the answers they imply.