Intellectual History, Context, and Robert Brandom

What does it mean “to put an idea in context”? Does explaining the as effect of a certain set causes? Or articulating range responses to issue that are recognizably conventional particular place and time so force any given response can be assessed? Something else? Intellectual historians answer this question about context variety ways, but I think all would recognize is particularly important for intellectual history field inquiry. The book under review here may seem beyond purview Modern History . After all, Robert Brandom's A Spirit Trust: Reading Hegel's Phenomenology written by philosopher philosophers. Perhaps could called philosophy (though even debatable), certainly not history. Nevertheless, should dealing with. Why? Because, among other things, offers compelling illuminating what context. This because itself contextual work. Brandom ignores almost everything regard Hegel. Kant figure book, yet broader tableau early nineteenth-century German philosophy, politics, culture completely absent. But offer theory concepts. In doing so, Trust also gives us account Here, I'll arguing helps understand more clearly debates we have been having recently how do our particular, see there no necessary tension between putting ideas historical contexts, on one hand, developing them critically, other. And overcome binary critique reinforced recent debate Peter Gordon Ian Hunter.