In the introduction to TOMD, Brandom lays out five different conceptions of rationality in a progressive sequence, so that each subsequent conception incorporates the insights of the previous one, while amending or advancing it in some way (TOMD: 1–17). Since one of the five conceptions is Brandom's own inferentialist one, one would expect it to be the fifth and final in the sequence, thereby portraying it as the most complete conception of rationality available. Surprisingly, inferentialism is the fourth of the conceptions presented, and is incorporated into and improved upon by a fifth, a historical conception of rationality.

What does Brandom consider wrong with, or missing from, the inferentialist conception? How does the historical conception overcome this deficiency? Does the historical conception require an emendation of inferentialism or merely mandate a supplementation of it? It is not possible to provide complete answers to these questions, as the historical conception is only beginning to emerge in Brandom's writings and there is no full or definitive account available to date. What follows is a brief attempt to discern some relevant themes in this emerging literature, so as to suggest an agenda for future research.

According to the historicist, the inferentialist conception relies on certain assumptions that it neglects to submit to theoretical interrogation.