Tracing a thinker’s sources can wrongly deny their originality

Evidence

The problem of the “origins” of Marx’s thought has not been properly considered: a detailed study of his philosophical culture (and of the general philosophical environment in which he was formed directly and indirectly) is certainly necessary, but only as the premiss for a far more important study, that of his own “original” philosophy, which cannot be exhausted by study of a few “sources” or his personal “culture”. It is necessary, first of all, to take account of his creative and constructive activity. — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1378 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

As his colleagues at the LSE observed, Robbins was not a particularly innovative thinker; his great skill lay in his capacity to aggregate and synthesize the scholarly achievements of others. In a discipline that remained distinctly insular, however, he achieved signifi cant originality by elaborating on the insights of foreign sources that his colleagues found largely obscure. — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 59 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: A thinker’s sources cannot explain the originality of their thought — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1378; Intellectual originality can consist of synthesizing foreign sources rather than innovating — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion: Reinventing Free…, 59; Conspiracy research should track idea migration, not belief truth — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 50 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• A thinker’s sources cannot explain the originality of their thought #corroborates (0.85) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1378
• Intellectual originality can consist of synthesizing foreign sources rather than innovating #qualifies (0.80) — Angus Burgin, The Great Persuasion, 59