在历史语境主义中开拓概念史的研究——读昆廷·斯金纳《现代政治思想的基础》

在西方政治思想史研究领域内,以英国历史学家昆廷·斯金纳为代表的"剑桥学派"居主流地位。他在《现代政治思想的基础》一书中将近代"国家"观念的形成和不断完善视为西方现代政治思想的基础。这种概念史的研究方法,大大向前推进了"历史语境主义"的内涵和外延。斯金纳将历史语境主义、概念史、修辞学三者通恰相融,不仅推进了"剑桥学派"的政治思想史研究,而且最终由此成为一位学术大师。

Development of Conceptual History in Historical Contextualism

Quentin Skinner, the British historian as the representative of the ＂Cambridge school＂, is in the mainstream status in the historical research of western political thoughts. In his masterpiece ＂The Foundations of Modern Political Thought＂, he considered that the formation and perfection of the concept of ＂modern state＂ is the basis of modern western political thoughts. Quentin Skinner＇s research methods of the conceptual history greatly advance the connotation and denotation of the ＂historical contextualism＂. Quentin Skinner combined the historical contextualism and the rhetoric into his research of conceptual history, which not only promoted the study of the history of political thoughts in the ＂Cambridge school＂, but also made him a master in the corresponding academic field.