The Idea of History is the best-known book of the great Oxford philosopher, historian, and archaeologist R.G. Collingwood. It was originally published posthumously in 1946, having been mainly reconstructed from Collingwood's manuscripts, many of which are now lost. For this revised edition, Collingwood's most important lectures on the philosophy of history are published here for the first time. These texts have been prepared by Jan van der Dussen from manuscripts that have only recently become available. The lectures contain Collingwood's first (...) comprehensive statement of his philosophy of history; they are therefore essential for a full understanding of his thought, and in particular for a correct interpretation of The Idea of History itself. Van der Dussen contributes a substantial introduction in which he explains the background to this new edition and surveys the scholarship of the last fifty years. (shrink)

This early work by Robin G. Collingwood was originally published in 1939 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'An Autobiography' is the story of Collingwood's personal and academic life. Robin George Collingwood was born on 22nd February 1889, in Cartmel, England. He was the son of author, artist, and academic, W. G. Collingwood. He was greatly influenced by the Italian Idealists Croce, Gentile, and Guido de Ruggiero. Another important influence was his father, a professor (...) of fine art and a student of Ruskin. He published many works of philosophy, such as Speculum Mentis (1924), An Essay on Philosophic Method (1933), and An Essay on Metaphysics (1940). (shrink)

2014 Reprint of 1945 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. The first part deals with Greek cosmology and is the longest, the most elaborate and, on the whole, the liveliest part of a book which never deviates into dullness. The dominant thought in Greek cosmology, Collingwood holds, was the microcosm-macrocosm analogy, nature being the substance of something ensouled where "soul" meant the self-moving. Part II is "The Renaissance View of Nature." Collingwood describes the (...) rise and decline of the deists' view of Nature as a machine designed by the Great Contriver who, having turned it out, watches it go. Part III, "The Modern View of Nature," deals with very recent or contemporary philosophy and science, discerning in it a radical evolutionism first in biology and later in cosmology. Remains to this day a classic text in the history of ideas. (shrink)

James Connelly and Giuseppina D'Oro present a new edition of R. G. Collingwood's classic work of 1933, supplementing the original text with important related writings from Collingwood's manuscripts which appear here for the first time. The editors also contribute a substantial new introduction. The volume will be welcomed by all historians of twentieth-century philosophy.

The New Leviathan, originally published in 1942, a few months before the author's death, is the book which R. G. Collingwood chose to write in preference to ...

This book brings together for the first time the political and related writings of R.G. Collingwood (1889-1943), the great Oxford philosopher, historian, and archaeologist. Including a great deal of previously unpublished or inaccessible material, the writings place political action in the context of action as a whole and addresses substantive social and political issues, particularly Nazism and Fascism, which Collingwood recognized as a threat to European civilization.

Este libro es el resultado del trabajo póstumo de compilación y selección de los papeles de Collingwood.

This paper presents evidence and arguments against an interpretation of david Hume's idea of history which insists that he held to a static conception of human nature. This interpretation presumes that hume lacks a genuine historical perspective, and that consequently his notion of historiography contains a fallacy (viz., Of the universal man). It is shown here that this interpretation overlooks an important distinction between methodological and substantive uniformity in hume's discussion of human nature and action. When this distinction is appreciated, (...) the above criticisms appear misrepresentative of hume's ideas of history, human nature, and their connection. A different interpretation of these concepts is then developed. (shrink)

Published here for the first time in paperback is much of a final and long-anticipated work on philosophy of history by the renowned Oxford philosopher, historian, and archaeologist R. G. Collingwood. The original text of this uncompleted work was only recently discovered in the archives of Oxford University Press. Also found there were two conclusions written by Collingwood for lectures which were eventually revised and published as The Idea of Nature, but which have relevance to his philosophy of history as (...) well. These pieces are included in this volume, accompanied by further short writings by Collingwood on historical knowledge and inquiry, selected from previously unpublished manuscripts held at the Bodleian Library, Oxford. All these writings, besides containing entirely new ideas, discuss further many of the issues which Collingwood is famous for having raised in The Idea of History and in his Autobiography.A lengthy editorial introduction sets these writings in their context, and discusses philosophical questions to which they give rise. The editors also consider why Collingwood left The Principles of History unfinished at his death, and what significance should be attached to the fact that it contains no reference to one of his best-known ideas: that of historical understanding as re-enactment. This volume will be a significant publication not just in Collingwood studies but in philosophy of history generally. (shrink)

El interes de Collingwood por las cuestiones esteticas fue uno de los mas persistentes a lo largo de toda su obra. Asi pues, todo lo expuesto en este libro tiene una aplicacion practica, directa o indirectamente, a la condicion del arte en la actualidad.

Reprints selections from Religion and Philosophy (1916), Speculum Mentis (1924), and "Religion, Science and Philosophy". "Reason is Faith Cultivating Itself", "Faith and Reason", "What is the Problem of Evil", "The Devil", and "Can the New Idealism Dispend with Mysticism?".

Niniejszy esej stanowi zbiór podstawowych poglądów brytyjskiego filozofa Robina George’a Collingwooda na cele i zadania nauk historycznych. Zawiera krytykę ujmowania historii jako dyscypliny dążącej do ustanowienia ogólnych, rządzących biegiem dziejów, praw oraz jako dyscypliny zmierzającej do odkrycia, realizowanego w dziejach, boskiego planu. Jest on próbą wykazania różnic między historią a filozofią historii, sztuką i nauką. Wyraża pogląd, że nie istnieje coś takiego jak czysty fakt historyczny, że nie jesteśmy w stanie, w sposób absolutny, poznać jakiegokolwiek faktu historycznego, mimo że wiedza (...) o nim zwiększa się, oraz że myślenie historyczne bazuje na percepcji.Konkluzją esejujest myśl, że każdy historyk patrzy na przeszłość z własnego punktu widzenia, a więc źródła, zjakich korzysta, i wnioski, do jakich dochodzi, będą się znacząco różniły od źródeł i wniosków innych historyków, oraz myśl, że każde wydarzenie historyczne jest niewy- czerpalne w tym sensie, że w rękach każdego nowego historyka przybiera inny kształt. (shrink)

The New Leviathan, originally published in 1942, a few months before the author's death, is the book which R. G. Collingwood chose to write in preference to completing his life's work on the philosophy of history. It was a reaction to the Second World War and the threat which Nazism and Fascism constituted to civilization. The book draws upon many years of work in moral and political philosophy and attempts to establish the multiple and complex connections between the levels of (...) consciousness, society, civilization, and barbarism. Collingwood argues that traditional social contract theory has failed to account for the continuing existence of the non-social community and its relation to the social community in the body politic. He is also critical of the tendency within ethics to confound right and duty. The publication of additional manuscript material in this revised edition demonstrates in more detail how Collingwood was determined to show that right and duty occupy different levels of rational practical consciousness. The additional material also contains Collingwood's unequivocal rejection of relativism. David Boucher's introduction shows that The New Leviathan and The Idea of History are integrally related and that neither can be properly understood independently of the other. He is also concerned to show how many of Collingwood's ideas have a contemporary relevance, and that his ideas on barbarism are not so unusual as they might at first appear. (shrink)

Historia del desarrollo de la comprensión de lo natural a través de todos los tiempos, que inicia en la Edad Clásica, pasa por el Renacimiento y llega hasta la Edad Moderna. Las preguntas e investigaciones que tienen como objeto el conocimiento natural o ciencia de la naturaleza constituyen, desde la perspectiva del autor, un testimonio de la existencia del hombre; la idea de la naturaleza adquiere la realidad de la historicidad porque el hombre se construye y elabora su mundo a (...) partir de la historia. Luego de más de medio siglo transcurrido desde su primera edición, y a la luz de los descubrimientos científicos que Collingwood no pudo ver, esta obra pondrá el lector en contacto con los dramáticos cambios que ha sufrido nuestra idea de la naturaleza. (shrink)

This volume presents a many-faceted view of the great Oxford philosopher R. G. Collingwood. At its centre is his Autobiography of 1939, a cult classic for its compelling 'story of his thought'. That work is accompanied here by previously unpublished writings by Collingwood and eleven specially written essays on aspects of his life and work.

The New Leviathan, originally published in 1942, a few months before the author's death, is the book which R. G. Collingwood chose to write in preference to completing his life's work on the philosophy of history. It was a reaction to the Second World War and the threat which Nazism and Fascism constituted to civilization. The book draws upon many years of work in moral and political philosophy and attempts to establish the multiple and complex connections between the levels of (...) consciousness, society, civilization, and barbarism. Collingwood argues that traditional social contract theory has failed to account for the continuing existence of the non-social community and its relation to the social community in the body politic. He is also critical of the tendency within ethics to confound right and duty. The publication of additional manuscript material in this revised edition demonstrates in more detail how Collingwood was determined to show that right and duty occupy different levels of rational practical consciousness. The additional material also contains Collingwood's unequivocal rejection of relativism. David Boucher's introduction shows that The New Leviathan and The Idea of History are integrally related and that neither can be properly understood independently of the other. He is also concerned to show how many of Collingwood's ideas have a contemporary relevance, and that his ideas on barbarism are not so unusual as they might at first appear. (shrink)

[1] La tâche qui nous attend maintenant est de trouver en quoi une société civilisée diffère, ou différerait, d’une société pure et simple, c’est-à-dire de trouver ce que c’est que la civilisation.La meilleure façon d’aborder une question de cette espèce est d’avoir recours au dictionnaire. Le dictionnaire ne fournira pas une réponse toute faite ; car la réponse que..