Welcome to Explorations in Intellectual History, my blog containing a diverse array of topics in the realm of intellectual history. This blog provides a platform for regular updates on various subjects, from dissecting the methodologies employed in intellectual history to analyzing pivotal moments within the canonical discourse.
Raphael’s School of Athens (1509-1511)
My aim is to facilitate a rigorous academic exploration accessible to both scholars and enthusiasts alike. Through my posts, I endeavor to foster a deeper understanding of the evolution of ideas and the profound impact they have had on human society. Join me on this intellectual journey, where I strive to unravel the intricate threads of human thought. Expect regular updates that promise to enhance your appreciation of the intricate tapestry that is intellectual history.
Click on the posts below to explore the methods and moments of intellectual history.
Acknowledgement of Supervision: Professor Richard Whatmore Intellectual history comprises the core components of thought and ideas, the context of those ideas within periods or chains of ideas, finding an issue with the preceding scholarship on these ideas in context and making an argument for change,… Read more: Writing Intellectual History:
Acknowledgement of Supervision: Dr Deborah Kent R.A. Fisher (1890-1962) was a renowned British statistician and geneticist who made significant contributions to statistics and evolutionary biology. He developed influential statistical techniques and played a key role in the modern synthesis of evolutionary theory. However, Fisher’s support… Read more: An intellectual history of the emergence of eugenics.
Acknowledgement of Supervision: Dr Bill Jenkins This week, under the supervision of Dr Bill Jenkins, we embarked on the development of science as a realm of intellectual inquiry – during the age of revolutions just after the Enlightenment. This primarily involved a focus on the… Read more: Political Implications of Temporalised Natural World in an ‘Age of Revolutions’
Acknowledgement of Supervision: Dr Valerie Wallace Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was an English philosopher of the Enlightenment, social reformer, and ‘founder’ of the Utilitarianism school of thought. Bentham believed that the moral value of an action should be determined by its ability to bring the greatest… Read more: Jeremy Bentham: Transcribing the Utilitarian Project
Acknowledgement of Supervision: Professor John Robertson Constructing Enlightenment: For this week’s class, we worked with Professor John Robertson on notions of the construction of the Enlightenment. This scholarship focuses heavily on 20th-century interpretations of the ‘Age of Reason’, which were especially prevalent amongst academics of… Read more: Beyond the Bright Lights: Examining the Complexity and Construction of the Enlightenment.
Acknowledgement of Supervision: Professor Knud Haakonssen Pufendorf and Prudence: In week 5, we turned to the thought and times of Samuel von Pufendorf (8th January 1632 – 26th October 1694), a jurist who theorised and wrote on the nature of human society – observing that… Read more: Natural Law and Natural Rights.
Acknowledgement of Supervision: Dr Karie Schultz The medieval period with its rediscovery of the ancients facilitated the rise of political science, synthesised with religious thought. This move can be seen as echoing through to the Reformation, the epoch of this week’s study. During the Reformation,… Read more: Resistance and Reformation.
Acknowledgement of Supervision: Dr Rory Cox In week 3, we delved into the world of the medieval scholars. Intellectual history is often seen as dying off between the perennial wisdom of the Ancients until the baton is taken up once more In the Renaissance through… Read more: Meddling with the Medieval.
Acknowledgement of Supervision: Dr Rory Cox By week 3, we were delving into the realm of an often highly protective discipline, Classics. We had been set a choice of texts to review for the first seminar of the week on the Turning Points in intellectual… Read more: All the Classics…
Acknowledgement of Supervision: Professor Richard Whatmore Confused? Never fear, we are getting closer to a method. By the time of the next class, certain truths were becoming more crystalized. In this forum, we discussed the work of Quentin Skinner and Michel Foucault and their different… Read more: A Method in the ‘Madness’:
Acknowledgement of Supervision: Professor Richard Whatmore Under the supervision of Professor Richard Whatmore of the University of St. Andrews, I began exploring intellectual history for my master of letters. The first question to address in such a complex and seemingly intimidating field is to ask… Read more: Beginnings:
Explorations in Intellectual History 