Quentin Skinner's methodology for understanding political thought has a negative and a positive feature: the negative includes a criticism on the methodology of textual and contextual reading, which has led to illuminating the defects and ambiguities of both and finally underlining their insufficiency in understanding political thoughts. The positive feature is Skinner's own method on the basis of which, for understanding the terminology, concepts and political statements of political thinkers of a particular time, in addition to studying their works and texts and understanding the social and political context of that period, we need to work out their aims and intentions. In order to reach such an understanding, one should go for understanding intellectual currencies and tendencies, arguments and reasons, and questions and answers (in short, the 'linguistic and Political discourse') current at the time.
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