古希腊和我国的春秋战国时代是原创性哲学出现最集中的时期，然而到了后来，哲学原创性显得越来越少，原因是什么呢？

《Ancient Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction》有一句话解释的不错。“Once philosophy has formed a teaching tradition, it can well seem foolish to seek originality at all costs, and sounder to argue form and build on what are already going positions. This is what most philosophers do today, so we should pause bfore turning up our noses at it.”

大意是说哲学一旦形成教育传统，那么不惜一切代价去寻求哲学的原创性就会显得很愚蠢，而在已有的哲学传统为基础之上形成和建立新的哲学观点才会显得更稳健和更合理。事实上，现在的绝大多数哲学家也是这么做的。