Shadow history

Richard Watson's discussion of shadow history in philosophy seems to put historians and philosophers in competition over the interpretation of the past. However, a historian's work gains its position based on the quality of its scholarship, whereas the influence of a philosopher's version of the past depends on how it is treated by philosophers in the future and is always subject to change. Some of the confusion between philosophy and history of philosophy could be cleared up if philosophers would either strive for greater historical accuracy or deal with ideas without reference to history.