This article argues for four interrelated claims: (i) Metaphilosophy is not one sub-discipline of philosophy, nor is it restricted to questions of methodology. Rather, metaphilosophical inquiry encompasses the general background conditions of philosophical practice. (ii) These background conditions are of various sorts, not only those routinely considered “philosophical” but also those considered biographical, historical, and sociological. Accordingly, we should be wary of the customary distinction between what is proper (internal) and merely contingent (external) to philosophy. (iii) “What is philosophy?” is best understood as a practical question concerning how members of different philosophical sub-communities identify what is pertinent to their respective activities and self-conceptions. (iv) Given (i)–(iii), understanding what philosophy is requires us to take more seriously the social-institutional dimension of contemporary philosophical practice.

中文翻译：

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论元哲学领域

本文论证了四个相互关联的主张：(i) 元哲学不是哲学的一个分支学科，也不限于方法论问题。相反，元哲学探究包含哲学实践的一般背景条件。(ii) 这些背景条件是多种多样的，不仅是那些通常被认为是“哲学”的，还有那些被认为是传记、历史和社会学的。因此，我们应该警惕哲学固有的（内在的）和仅仅是偶然的（外在的）哲学之间的习惯区分。(iii) “什么是哲学？” 最好将其理解为一个实际问题，涉及不同哲学子社区的成员如何确定与他们各自的活动和自我概念相关的内容。(iv) 鉴于 (​​i)–(iii),