The Past´s Presence : Essays on the Historicity of Philosophical Thinking

Throughout the discourse of modern philosophy, the problematic relationship between thought and history has been a recurring theme. Tensions between historicist and ahistoricist conceptions of philosophy continue to pervade the debate. In October 2003 an international symposium under the title “Thinking in History” was held at Södertörn University College. The symposium gathered a number of philosophical researchers who presented material addressing the general problem of philosophy’s conceptualisation of its historical situatedness. Most of the essays presented in this volume originate from this symposium. Several contributions stem from the phenomenological tradition, particularly from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger. Friedrich Nietzsche is also a recurring reference. In addition, the volume contains essays relating to Spinoza’s, Castoriadis’ and the Kyoto School’s varied understanding of history.