Of all the restraints upon the political philosopher’s freedom to speculate, none has been so powerful as the tradition of political philosophy itself. In the act of philosophizing, the theorist enters into a debate the terms of which have largely been set beforehand. Many preceding philosophers have been at work collecting and systematizing the words and concepts of political discourse. In the course of time, this collection has been further refined and transmitted as a cultural legacy; these concepts have been taught and discussed; they have been pondered and frequently altered. They have become, in brief, an inherited body of knowledge. When they are handed down from one age to another, they act as conservatizing agencies within the theory of a particular philosopher, preserving the insights, experience, and refinements of the past, and compelling those who would participate in the Western political dialogue to abide by certain rules and usages. Sheldon S. Wolin, Politics and Vision
Posted on: Tue, 06 May 2014 10:01:55 +0000
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