Begriffsgeschichte ja aatehistoria

Authors

• Melvin Richter

Abstract

The article presents three German historical reference works, Geschichtliche Grundbegrijfe (Basic Concepts in History), Historisches Wörterbuch der Philosophic (A Dictionary of Philosophy on Historical Principles) and Handbuch politisch-sozialer Grundbegrijfe in Frankreich 1680—1820 (A Handbook of Basic Political and Social Concepts in France, 1680—1820). These works represent the German specialty Begriffsgeschichte (conceptual history or the history of concepts) which has its origin in prewar German Geistesgeschichte (Dilthey) and Ideengeschichte (Meinecke). The Differences and similarities of the problems, matter and method of these reference works are discussed. Conceptual history is compared with A. O. Lovejoy and the Anglophone traditions of the history of ideas and intellectual history. The article is originally published in the Journal of the History of Ideas, vol. 48, 2/1987.