Philosophical historicism and the betrayal of first philosophy

the long version

Philosophical historicism argues that human reason is totally and necessarily bound to the contingencies of its historical context. In the twentieth century, the most arresting development of the historicist attitude has been a growing willingness to include many if not all forms of rational and theoretical activity within the scope of what must be historicized. Most striking of all has been the recent emergence, among philosophers, of the view that the activity of human reason in all its possible modes must also be historicized, including the activity of philosophizing itself. This view may be found in writers as diverse as Hans-Georg Gadamer, Richard Rorty, Michel Foucault, and Alasdair MacIntyre. . This contemporary view of human reason contrasts with the traditional commitments of "First Philosophy," Aristotle's name for the knowledge of things through their ultimate causes and principles. Philosophical historicism denies that such knowledge may be realized by human beings. The stage is thus set for a "battle of the giants" between two fundamental yet contradictory interpretations of human reason, two views of philosophy. This book challenges the prevailing historicist orthodoxies about the nature of reason and philosophy. It offers the first comprehensive analysis and critique of historicism in its current philosophical form.