History and Theory 41 (1):25–42 (2002)
Authors |
|
Abstract |
In this article I will challenge a received orthodoxy in the philosophy of social science by showing that Collingwood was right in insisting that reenactment is epistemically central for historical explanations of individual agency. Situating Collingwood within the context of the debate between simulation theory and what has come to be called “theory theory” in contemporary philosophy of mind and psychology, I will develop two systematic arguments that attempt to show the essential importance of reenactment for our understanding of rational agency. I will furthermore show that Gadamer’s influential critique of the reenactment model distinguishes insufficiently between the interpretation of certain types of texts and the explanation of individual actions. In providing an account of individual agency, we are committed to a realistic understanding of our ordinary scheme of actionexplanations and have thus to recognize the centrality of reenactment. Nevertheless, Collingwood’s emphasis on reenactment is certainly one-sided. I will demonstrate its limitations even for accounting for individual agency, and show how it has to be supplemented by various theoretical considerations, by analyzing the different explanatory strategies that Christopher Browning and Daniel Goldhagen use to explain the behavior of the ordinary men in Reserve Battalion 101 during World War II.
|
Keywords | Collingwood Philosophy of History |
Categories | (categorize this paper) |
DOI | 10.1111/1468-2303.00189 |
Options |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Download options
References found in this work BETA
No references found.
Citations of this work BETA
Understanding Versus Explanation? How to Think About the Distinction Between the Human and the Natural Sciences.Karsten R. Stueber - 2012 - Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 55 (1):17 - 32.
How to Think About Rules and Rule Following.Karsten R. Stueber - 2005 - Philosophy of the Social Sciences 35 (3):307-323.
A Moderate Hermeneutical Approach to Empathy in History Education.Tyson Retz - 2015 - Educational Philosophy and Theory 47 (3):1-13.
Dewey: A Pragmatist View of History.Serge Grigoriev - 2012 - Journal of the Philosophy of History 6 (2):173-194.
View all 11 citations / Add more citations
Similar books and articles
Reenactment, Fantasy, and the Paranoia of History: Oliver Stone's Docudramas.Marita Sturken - 1997 - History and Theory 36 (4):64–79.
Reenactment: An Embodied Cognition Approach to Meaning and Linguistic Content. [REVIEW]Sergeiy Sandler - 2012 - Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 11 (4):583-598.
The Vicissitude of Completeness: Gadamer's Criticism of Collingwood.Dimitrios Vardoulakis - 2004 - International Journal of Philosophical Studies 12 (1):3 – 19.
Empathy, Rationality, and Explanation.Mark Bevir & Karsten Stueber - 2011 - Journal of the Philosophy of History 5 (2):147-162.
Collingwood and Weber Vs. Mink: History After the Cognitive Turn.Stephen Turner - 2011 - Journal of the Philosophy of History 5 (2):230-260.
Continuity of the Rational: Naturalism and Historical Understanding in Collingwood.Serge Grigoriev - 2008 - Journal of the Philosophy of History 2 (2):119-137.
A Just Medium: Empathy and Detachment in Historical Understanding.Constantine Sandis - 2011 - Journal of the Philosophy of History 5 (2):179-200.
Metaphysics, History and the Unpublished Manuscripts.John Luckman - 1991 - International Studies in Philosophy 23 (3):27-45.
Rethinking R.G. Collingwood: Philosophy, Politics, and the Unity of Theory and Practice.Gary K. Browning - 2004 - Palgrave-Macmillan.
Historicity as Methodology or Hermeneutics: Collingwood's Influence on Skinner and Gadamer.Kenneth McIntyre - 2008 - Journal of the Philosophy of History 2 (2):138-166.
Analytics
Added to PP index
2009-01-28
Total views
58 ( #174,434 of 2,420,524 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
1 ( #542,979 of 2,420,524 )
2009-01-28
Total views
58 ( #174,434 of 2,420,524 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
1 ( #542,979 of 2,420,524 )
How can I increase my downloads?
Downloads