The main aim of this series is to create a venue for work on the history of analytic philosophy, and to consolidate the area as a major branch of philosophy. The 'history of analytic philosophy' is to be understood broadly, as covering the period from the last three decades of the nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth century, beginning with the work of Frege, Russell, Moore and Wittgenstein (who are generally regarded as its main founders) and the influences upon them, and going right up to the recent history of the analytic tradition.

In allowing the 'history' to extend to the present, the aim is to encourage engagement with contemporary debates in philosophy, for example, in showing how the concerns of early analytic philosophy relate to current concerns. In focusing on analytic philosophy, the aim is not to exclude comparisons with other – earlier or contemporary – traditions, or consideration of figures or themes that some might regard as marginal to the analytic tradition but which also throw light on analytic philosophy. Indeed, a further aim of the series is to deepen our understanding of the broader context in which analytic philosophy developed, by looking, for example, at the roots of analytic philosophy in neo-Kantianism or British idealism, or the connections between analytic philosophy and phenomenology, or discussing the work of philosophers who were important in the development of analytic philosophy but who are now often forgotten.