Published here for the first time is much of a final and long-anticipated work on philosophy of history by the great Oxford philosopher and historian R. G. Collingwood. The original text of this uncompleted work has only recently been discovered. It is accompanied by further, shorter writings on historical knowledge and inquiry. A lengthy editorial introduction sets these writings in their context, and discusses philosophical questions to which they give rise.

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)

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.

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)

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)

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. (shrink)

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.

James Connelly and Giuseppina D'Oro present a revised 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, and 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 ...

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)

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)

This new edition of Collingwood's An Essay on Philosophical Method contains several previously unpublished papers including Collingwood's correspondence with Gilbert Ryle.

[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..

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)

SummaryR. G. Collingwood presented his major work of political philosophy, The New Leviathan, as an updated version of Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan. However, his reasons for taking Hobbes's great work as his inspiration have puzzled and eluded many Collingwood scholars, while those interested in the reception of Hobbes's ideas have largely neglected the New Leviathan. In this essay I reveal what Collingwood saw in Hobbes's political philosophy and show how his reading of Hobbes both diverges from other prominent interpretations of the (...) time and invites us to reassess Hobbes's complex association with the origins of liberalism. In doing so, I focus on Collingwood's science of mind, his ideas on society and authority, and his dialectical theory of politics, in each case showing how he engaged with Hobbes in order to elucidate his own vision of civilisation. That vision is based on the development of social consciousness, which involves people coming to understand the body politic as a joint enterprise whereby they confer authority upon those who rule. (shrink)

This early work by Robin G. Collingwood was originally published in 1924 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'Speculum Mentis' is an academic work on the subject of philosophy. 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)

Published posthumously in 1964, this volume contains a fantastic collection of essays by R. G. Collingwood on the subject of art and it's relationship with philosophy. Robin George Collingwood, FBA (1889 - 1943) was an English historian, philosopher, and archaeologist most famous for his philosophical works including "The Principles of Art" (1938) and the posthumously-published "The Idea of History" (1946). This fascinating volume will appeal to those with an interest in Collingwood's seminal work, and is not to be missed (...) by students of philosophy and art. Contents include: "Ruskin not a Philosophical Writer," "Ruskin's Attitude towards Philosophy," "On the Philosophy of Non-Philosophers," "Logicism and Historicism," "Ruskin as Historicist," "The Anti-Historicism of Ruskin's Contemporaries," "The Unity of the Spirit: Corollaries and Illustrations," "Ruskin and Browning," 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, modern edition complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author. (shrink)

RÉSUMÉ: R. G. Collingwood a-t-il rejeté, après 1933, l’existence de problèmes éternels en philosophie? En me référant à son œuvre complète, je voudrais montrer que cette question doit recevoir une réponse négative. J’essaie d’expliquer, d’abord, pourquoi Collingwood recourt, dans An Autobiography et An Essay on Metaphysics, à une terminologie un peu curieuse et même parfois trompeuse, qui a donné prise à l’interprétation selon laquelle le der-nier Collingwood répudiait l’existence de problèmes éternels en philosophie. Deuxiè-mement, mon intention est de rendre manifeste (...) que pour Collingwood — qui se considérait luimême, au milieu des années trente, comme un «idéaliste objectif» — les questions philosophiques sont à la fois historiques et éternelles. (shrink)

RÉSUMÉ: R. G. Collingwood a-t-il rejeté, après 1933, l’existence de problèmes éternels en philosophie? En me référant à son œuvre complète, je voudrais montrer que cette question doit recevoir une réponse négative. J’essaie d’expliquer, d’abord, pourquoi Collingwood recourt, dans An Autobiography et An Essay on Metaphysics, à une terminologie un peu curieuse et même parfois trompeuse, qui a donné prise à l’interprétation selon laquelle le der-nier Collingwood répudiait l’existence de problèmes éternels en philosophie. Deuxiè-mement, mon intention est de rendre manifeste (...) que pour Collingwood — qui se considérait luimême, au milieu des années trente, comme un «idéaliste objectif» — les questions philosophiques sont à la fois historiques et éternelles. (shrink)

This paper contrasts two approaches to the mind-body problem and the possibility of mental causation: the conceptual approach advocated by Collingwood/Dray and the metaphysical approach advocated by Davidson. On the conceptual approach to show that mental causation is possible is equivalent to demonstrating that mentalistic explanations possess a different logical structure from naturalistic explanations. On the metaphysical approach to show that mental causation is possible entails explaining how the mind can intelligibly be accommodated within a physicalist universe. I argue that (...) the conceptual approach offers a much more powerful defence of the autonomy of the mental. (shrink)

An initial study of Robin George Collingwood's The Principles of Art and Benedetto Croce's Aesthetic: A Science ofExpression and General Linguistic gives an immediate impression that Collingwood appropriated and incorporated many elements in Croce's work to his own position. This is probably the main reason why Collingwood, in his correspondence with Croce, sincerely expressed his gratitude to the Italian Philosopher for laying the foundation of his art-theory. Collingwood's acknowledgement of Croce's influence and the apparentsimilarity in their theories on art (...) disposes us to wonder if Collingwood mayhave only extended, hence, reiterated the principles of Croce's position. Given this impression, the present article hopes to provide a study between Collingwood's and Croce's theories of art in the hope that we can tease out a crucial difference between their standpoints. If we can demonstrate a significant difference, then we may have provided ourselves with the cudgels to assert that Collingwood's theory of art is also unique. (shrink)

The purpose of this article is to synthesize four major elements of aesthetic experience that have previously appeared isolated whenever an attempt at conceptualization is made. These four elements are: Immanuel Kant’s disinterested pleasure, Robin G. Collingwood’s emotional expressionism, the present writer’s redemptive emotional experience, and, lastly, Plato’s concept of Beauty. By taking these four abstracted elements as the bedrock for genuine aesthetic experience, this article aims to clarify the proper role of art as distinct from philosophy and intellectualization. (...) Rather than a medium conducive to intellectual understanding, it is argued that the sphere these four elements of aesthetic experience demarcate is one in which art leads to an emotional understanding that transforms the human condition and it imbues it with new meaning only to be found in a moment of aesthetic experience. (shrink)

Robin George Colling Wood was a Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at Pembroke College, Oxford, from 1912 to 1935. During this period he published or prepared his most important philosophical and historical works.

This essay examines how, in the early twentieth century, ontological arguments were employed in the defense of metaphysical idealism. The idealists of the period tended to grant that ontological arguments defy our usual expectations in logic, and so they were less concerned with the formal properties of Anselmian arguments. They insisted, however, that ontological arguments are indispensable, and they argued that we can trust argumentation as such only if we presume that there is a valid ontological argument. In the first (...) section I outline the history of this metalogical interpretation of the ontological argument. In the subsequent sections I explain how Royce and Collingwood each developed the argument, and how this impacted their respective conceptions of both logic and metaphysics. (shrink)

This is the first book-length study of the relationship between Benedetto Croce, Giovanni Gentile, Guido de Ruggiero and Robin George Collingwood. Though the relationship between these highly influential philosophers has often been discussed, it has never been studied comprehensively.On the basis of published and unpublished writings this study carefully reconstructs their debate on the relationship between thought and action, following their explorations of art, history, philosophy and action in the context of the First World War and the rise of (...) Fascism and Nazism. This book unveils the hidden past of contemporary philosophy of history and divulges the last secret of Collingwood’s Italian connection. Dr Rik Peters is Senior Lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Groningen. (shrink)

Abstract Is `History Man', Fred Inglis' biography on R.G. Collingwood a successful biography? Inglis' explicit ambition is to portray the concrete figure Collingwood by abducting him from what he calls the vacuum-packed academic world of scholars. But the best biographers look for a balanced equilibrium between rendering philosophical ideas and dramatizing a philosopher's life. Put another way, they evoke the interweaving of a philosopher's thought with the vicissitudes of his life. Despite the unmistakable qualities of this biography, Fred Inglis did (...) not fully succeed in finding that very balance, mainly due to a lack of philosophical background. While Oxford University Press with the new edition of his works and manuscripts is thoroughly reorienting the traditional view of Collingwood, Inglis' fluently written but rather biased portrayal does no full justice to the heart of his fascinating philosophy and personality. (shrink)

Although interest in the philosophy of the Oxford idealist Robin George Collingwood has been growing steadily during the past two decades, his political thought has up until now been all but forgotten. David Boucher in his book The Social and Political Thought of R. G. Collingwood has set out to rectify the situation by attempting to show that Collingwood’s political philosophy as well as his more widely recognized views on history and aesthetics deserve some serious attention from today’s philosophers.

Although interest in the philosophy of the Oxford idealist Robin George Collingwood has been growing steadily during the past two decades, his political thought has up till now been all but forgotton. David Boucher in his book, The Social and Political Thought of R. G. Collingwood, has set out to rectify the situation by attempting to show that Collingwood’s political philosophy as well as his more widely recognized views on history and aesthetics deserve some serious attention from today’s philosophers.

Robin George Collingwood , né dans une famille de musiciens, de peintres et d’archéologues, fit toute sa carrière à l’Université d’Oxford, comme archéologue, historien et philosophe. Il fut fellow et tutor au collège de Pembroke puis à celui de Lincoln, de 1912 à 1928, puis University..

This paper defends an idealist form of non-reductivism in the philosophy of mind. I refer to it as a kind of conceptual dualism without substance dualism. I contrast this idealist alternative with the two most widespread forms of non-reductivism: multiple realisability functionalism and anomalous monism. I argue first, that functionalism fails to challenge seriously the claim for methodological unity since it is quite comfortable with the idea that it is possible to articulate a descriptive theory of the mind. Second, that (...) as an attempt to graft conceptual mind-body dualism onto a monistic metaphysics, the idealist alternative bears some similarities to anomalous monism, but that it is superior to it because it is not vulnerable to the charge of epiphenomenalism. I conclude that this idealist alternative should be given serious consideration by those who remain unconvinced that a successful defence of the non-reducibility of the mental is compatible with the pursuit of a naturalistic agenda. (shrink)