Abstract
Contextualism as a methodology for the history of political thought, as represented by the work of J. G. A. Pocock and more strongly that of Quentin Skinner, can merely be the expression of truisms or ignore problems related to the concept of context. All textual analysis in fact implies taking context into account, but context itself can be defined in an almost infinite number of ways. Contemporary historical contextualism sharply differentiates between past and present, but largely with reference to linguistic usage and in so doing has helped to make the history of thought appear irrelevant to contemporary moral issues and crises.