42. The Relationship of Ideas to Their Historical Context

42. The Relationship of Ideas to Their Historical Context

The progress of thought cannot be divorced from other phases of human activity. Our histories of philosophy tell us what various peoples have thought,  but they give us no information as to the various causes – social and political – which have determined the character of human thought. To write a complete history of philosophy would certainly be a tremendous task.    A mere theologian cannot fully reveal to his readers the rich content of Luther’s Reform. We are apt to isolate great ideas from the general stream of man’s intellectual activity