The ‘Historia Philosophica’ in the Culture of the Low Countries

Abstract

The historia philosophica first appeared as a literary genre in the Low Countries between 1540 and the end of the sixteenth century. Developments in historical, philological, and biblical studies in the universities, especially at Leiden, brought about an increased interest in the historical aspects of philosophy amongst scholars of both history and the humanities. Research into aspects of ancient thought (Lipsius) and Oriental philosophy (Heurnius) were decisive in focusing attention on history as an introduction to the more important representatives of classical thought. This new literary genre would not have been required, if it had not been for the considerable increase in classical studies, biblical exegesis, and above all philological research. Indeed, it was the technique of philology that created the way of examining all the works, authors, and main currents of thought that defined the historical and literary framework of the disciplines to be studied. For example, Heinsius with his poetic compositions on classical philosophy written in Greek verse, Vossius with his review of the history of historiography (De historicis graecis and De historicis latinis),and Grotius with his review of historical texts (Philosophorum sententiae de fato et de eo quod in nostra est potestate (Amsterdam, 1648)) all contributed to the application of philology to philosophical texts and sects, which sorted out their chronological order and doctrinal sources.