The Principles of History And Other Writings in Philosophy of History

by Collingwood, R. G.; Dray, W. H.; Dussen, W. J. van der

• ISBN13: 9780198237037
• ISBN10: 0198237030
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-07-29
• Publisher: Clarendon Press

Summary

Published here for the first time is much of a final and long-anticipated work on the philosophy of history by the great Oxford philosopher and historian R. G. Collingwood (1889-1943). The original text of this uncompleted work has only recently been discovered and is accompanied here by shorter writings by Collingwood on historical knowledge and inquiry. Besides containing entirely new ideas, these incredible writings discuss many of the issues which Collingwood famously raised in The Idea of History and in his Autobiography. This book also includes two conclusions written by Collingwood, which were eventually revised and published as The Idea of Nature. Moreover, this book contains a lengthy editorial introduction that puts Collingwood's writings in their context and discusses the philosophical questions they initiate. A landmark publication, this work will appeal not only to those studying Collingwood but also to anyone broadly curious about philosophy of history.

Author Biography

R. G. Collingwood was Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy in the University of Oxford from 1935 to 1941.
W. H. Dray is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Ottawa; he has held visiting appointments at Toronto, Harvard, Stanford, and Duke Universities, among others.
W. J. van der Dussen is Professor of Humanities at the Open University of the Netherlands.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations	ix
Editors' Note	xi
Editors' Introduction	xiii
Part I. THE PRINCIPLES OF HISTORY	1	(116)
Introduction to Book I	3	(4)
Evidence	7	(32)
Action	39	(39)
Nature and Action	78	(33)
The Past	111	(6)
History and Philosophy	114	(3)
Part II. ESSAYS AND NOTES ON PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY 1933-1939	117	(154)
Notes towards a Metaphysic	119	(21)
History as the Understanding of the Present	140	(3)
Inaugural: Rough Notes	143	(27)
Reality as History	170	(39)
Can Historians be Impartial?	209	(10)
Notes on the History of Historiography and Philosophy of History	219	(16)
Notes on Historiography	235	(16)
Conclusions to Lectures on Nature and Mind	251	(20)
Bibliography of Works Cited	271	(4)
General Index	275	(17)
References to Collingwood's Writings	292