----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- Here I have Richard Rorty citing B.F. Skinner: "The indispensable value for studying the history of ideas is to learn the distinction between what is necessary and what is the product of our own contingent arrangements". That is, how much is just a reflection of immediate institutional and informational environments, a reflection of what is currently convenient and fashionable; for those who wrote in the past and for those who write now? Surely this lesson is as important for those just starting out as it is for graduate students; perhaps, more important. And surely the best, if not the only, way to learn this lesson is to read originals from different times and places. Robin Neill. ------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]