The presentist approach to the history of philosophy examines philosophical texts for the arguments they contain and judges whether their conclusions remain relevant for philosophical concerns today. A contextualist approach interprets philosophy in terms of the historical and cultural contexts in which it was written.

A hermeneutic approach attempts to take the best of the presentist and contextualists approaches, viewing the historical context of original texts seriously but also recognizing that our interpretation of history is… Scholars adopt three main approaches to the history of philosophy.

Contextualist approach — an approach to the philosophy that interprets the ideas of philosophers in terms of the historical and cultural contexts in which they wrote. Hermeneutic approach — an approach to philosophy that takes the historical context of the original text seriously but also recognizes the influence of contemporary issues and perspectives. Presentist approach — an approach to philosophy that examines philosophical texts for the arguments they contain and judges how and whether they remain relevant today. Theory of the forms — a metaphysical doctrine that holds that every particular thing that exists in our changing, material world participates in an immaterial form or essence, which is unchanging….