R. G. Collingwood

"My best book in matter, in style. I may call it my only book."An Essay on Philosophical Method contains the most sustained discussion in the twentieth century of the subject matter and method of philosophy and an unparalleled explanation of why philosophy has a distinctive domain of enquiry that differs from that of the sciences of nature. Collingwood's mature work of metaphysics seeks to overhaul the notion of philosophical method, assigning philosophy the task of "thinking out the idea of an object that shall completely satisfy the demands of reason." The Essay is particularly interesting as an embodiment of the idealistic metaphysics Collingwood abandoned in later life. This edition (a reprint of the 1933 edition) of the Essay focuses on Collingwood's contribution to metaphilosophy and locates his argument for the autonomy of philosophy against the twentieth-century trend to naturalize its subject matter. Collingwood argues that the distinctions which philosophers make, for example, between the concepts of duty and utility in moral philosophy, or between the concepts of mind and body in the philosophy of mind, are not empirical taxonomies that cut nature at the joints but semantic distinctions to which there may correspond no empirical classes. This identification of philosophical distinctions with semantic distinctions provides the basis for an argument against the naturalization of the subject matter of philosophy for it entails that not all concepts are empirical concepts and not all classifications are empirical classifications. Collingwood's explanation of why philosophy has a distinctive subject matter thus constitutes a clear challenge to the project of radical empiricism. "One of the finest restatements in contemporary British philosophy of a Platonic and Hegelian metaphysic viewed from a modern standpoint." - Times Literary Supplement

The Idea of History (1946) is a book of philosophy that explores the nature of history and the historian's interpretation of it. Written by English historian, archaeologist, and philosopher R.G. Collingwood, the work encourages students of history to go beyond events into the motivations of the actors themselves.R.G. Collingwood (b. 1889, d. 1943) was the son of an artist/archaeologist father and artist/pianist mother. Showing an aptitude for the classics and history from an early age, he was recognized at school in Classic Moderations (representing fluency in Greek and Latin) as well as ancient history and philosophy. He soon entered academia and spent his entire professional life at Oxford. In fact, he was elected a fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford before he even graduated from University College. Later, he became the Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at the Magdalen College, Oxford. While his teaching work focused on philosophy, he was also a well-known archaeologist, spending his school vacations on dig sites like Hadrian's Wall and writing scholarly articles and books. These works include The Archaeology of Roman Britain (1930) and Roman Britain and the English Settlements, the first volume of the Oxford History of England (1936). Collingwood was considered the leading authority on Roman Britain during his lifetime. Collingwood died in 1943, after several strokes. In the following years, his student T. M. Knox collected a series of lectures by Collingwood, primarily written in 1936, and published them as The Idea of History in 1946. The book is split into five parts, spanning views of history from Herodotus in the Greco-Roman times through the advent and ascendency of Christianity, the Enlightenment, and the 19th Century. Collingwood considered history a science of human affairs mingled with psychology. He argues that to understand the past, the historian must use their "historical imagination" to recreate the thought process of the actors. By reliving the past in their own mind, the historian can discover the significant patterns and dynamics of previous civilizations. From a focus on humanism in the Greco-Roman era, to a theocentric view in Medieval times, to a reliance on science and a more "mature" worldview in the Enlightenment and beyond, Collingwood explores how the historians and philosophers in each time viewed history, and how their worldviews influenced their own perceptions of the past. It is only through the medium of the historian's mind, he argues, that historical facts can be interpreted. By immersing ourselves in the mentality of history's actors, we can rethink the past with a better understanding of the thoughts and motivations that guided their actions. Through the development of this historical consciousness, we can both understand the past and our place in the present world. But we must be careful not to impose our own values and beliefs onto these past actors, skewing their thoughts with our own. To do so leads to "scissors-and-paste" narratives of history, where sources are believable only if they suit the historian's own frame of mind.While the opinions expressed in The Idea of History are not shared by all historians, the work is nevertheless an important contribution to historical philosophy. His ideas were particularly central to historical debate during the 1950s and 1960s, and books have been written to support or refute his philosophy of history. He has influenced many great thinkers through the latter half of the 20th century and into the present.

The Idea of History (1946) is a book of philosophy that explores the nature of history and the historian's interpretation of it. Written by English historian, archaeologist, and philosopher R.G. Collingwood, the work encourages students of history to go beyond events into the motivations of the actors themselves.R.G. Collingwood (b. 1889, d. 1943) was the son of an artist/archaeologist father and artist/pianist mother. Showing an aptitude for the classics and history from an early age, he was recognized at school in Classic Moderations (representing fluency in Greek and Latin) as well as ancient history and philosophy. He soon entered academia and spent his entire professional life at Oxford. In fact, he was elected a fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford before he even graduated from University College. Later, he became the Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at the Magdalen College, Oxford. While his teaching work focused on philosophy, he was also a well-known archaeologist, spending his school vacations on dig sites like Hadrian's Wall and writing scholarly articles and books. These works include The Archaeology of Roman Britain (1930) and Roman Britain and the English Settlements, the first volume of the Oxford History of England (1936). Collingwood was considered the leading authority on Roman Britain during his lifetime. Collingwood died in 1943, after several strokes. In the following years, his student T. M. Knox collected a series of lectures by Collingwood, primarily written in 1936, and published them as The Idea of History in 1946. The book is split into five parts, spanning views of history from Herodotus in the Greco-Roman times through the advent and ascendency of Christianity, the Enlightenment, and the 19th Century. Collingwood considered history a science of human affairs mingled with psychology. He argues that to understand the past, the historian must use their "historical imagination" to recreate the thought process of the actors. By reliving the past in their own mind, the historian can discover the significant patterns and dynamics of previous civilizations. From a focus on humanism in the Greco-Roman era, to a theocentric view in Medieval times, to a reliance on science and a more "mature" worldview in the Enlightenment and beyond, Collingwood explores how the historians and philosophers in each time viewed history, and how their worldviews influenced their own perceptions of the past. It is only through the medium of the historian's mind, he argues, that historical facts can be interpreted. By immersing ourselves in the mentality of history's actors, we can rethink the past with a better understanding of the thoughts and motivations that guided their actions. Through the development of this historical consciousness, we can both understand the past and our place in the present world. But we must be careful not to impose our own values and beliefs onto these past actors, skewing their thoughts with our own. To do so leads to "scissors-and-paste" narratives of history, where sources are believable only if they suit the historian's own frame of mind.While the opinions expressed in The Idea of History are not shared by all historians, the work is nevertheless an important contribution to historical philosophy. His ideas were particularly central to historical debate during the 1950s and 1960s, and books have been written to support or refute his philosophy of history. He has influenced many great thinkers through the latter half of the 20th century and into the present.

Robin George Collingwood, FBA (1889 - 1943) was an English historian, philosopher, and archaeologist most famous his philosophical works. Along with "The Principles of Art" (1938), Collingwood's "The Idea of History" was his best-known work, originally collated from numerous sources following his death by a student of his, T. M. Knox. It became a major inspiration for philosophy of history in the western world and is extensively cited to his day. This fascinating volume on history and its relationship to philosophy will appeal to students and collectors of vintage philosophical works alike. Contents include: "The Philosophy of History", "History's Nature", "Object", "Method", "Greco-Roman Histography", "The Influence of Christianity", "The Threshold of Scientific History", "Scientific History", "England", "Germany", "France", "Italy", etc. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. It is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume today in an affordable, high-quality, modern edition complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author.

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