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Martin Kusch has called his book Psychologism (1995) "a case study in the sociology of philosophical knowledge' (subtitle); elsewhere (1996) he refers to it as an attempt to carry out the sociology of philosophical knowledge. In his book he deals with the debate between philosophy and psychology by stressing socio-political factors in Germany between 1880 and 1920. He not only considers the philosophical arguments, "but also professional interests, struggles over professorial chairs, wars, and mentalities' (ibid., 83). The aim of this paper is to introduce a historical perspective into the discussion on the sociology of philosophical knowledge. The leading idea is that the sociology of philosophical knowledge presupposes a suitable historiography of philosophy to provide the data for its sociological analyses. This historiography is supposedly based on an open view of philosophy. Philosophy ought to be regarded not only as a sum of eternal truths, but also as the result of human activity in time. The philosopher as an acting human being is a member of society, and as such, he is the object of personal, political, scientific and cultural influences. All these influences are relevant to the emergence of his philosophical ideas, concepts and conclusions. Considering these influences helps to explain, e.g., particular choices of philosophical topics at certain times, or the form of specific arguments. An important aspect for the hermeneutical interpretation of a text is the diagnosis of gaps in an author's insight, perhaps because of a lack in knowledge.

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-015-9399-1_8

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