History as a Science: the Philosophy of R.G. Collingwood: (3 Martinus Nijhoff Philosophy Library)

1. 1. COLLINGWOOD'S RECEPTION Collingwood's scholarly reputation is a complicated and variegated affair. For one has not only to make a' distinction between his reputation during his life and after his premature death in 1943, but also between his reputation as a philosopher and as an archaeologist and historian. Collingwood himself considered philosophy as his primary occupation and his work in archaeology and history as that of an amateur. This work, however, reached the highest standards and his contributions to archaeology and history have always been appreciated accordingly. Though Collingwood's reputation as the main expert on Roman Britain in the period between the two wars remains unchallenged, modern developments in this field have inevitably superseded his contributions and made them primarily voices from a past period. Philosophy was the other half of Collingwood's scholarly life. In his own thinking there was always a close relationship between philosophy and archaeological and histor ical practice. His interpreters have not always recognized this connection. I have met archaeologists who were surprised to hear that Collingwood was a philosopher as well, who either did not know that he had been a practising and philosophers archaeologist and historian, or thought it no more than a private hobby. Collingwood's reputation as a philosopher was very different from the one he gained in archaeology and history. For in the philosophical climate at Oxford between the wars he was always an isolated figure.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction.- 1.1 Collingwood's Reception.- 1.2 Collingwood's Development.- 1.3 Design of the Book.- One.- 2. The Development of Collingwood's Thought on History.- 2.1 From Religion and Philosophy to Speculum Mentis.- 2.2 Collingwood and Realism.- 2.3 History: From Realism to Idealism.- 2.4 History and Science.- 2.5 History as Process.- 3. The Idea of History and its Discussion.- 3.1 The Philosophy of History in Collingwood's Later Years.- 3.2 The Idea of History.- 3.3 The Discussion of The Idea of History.- 3.3.1 Introduction.- 3.3.2 All History is the History of Thought.- 3.3.3 Objective Conditions.- 3.3.4 The Intuitive Version of the Re-enactment Doctrine.- 3.3.5 History as the Re-enactment of Past Thought.- 3.3.6 Explanation and Understanding.- 3.3.7 Generalizations.- 3.3.8 Historical Objectivity.- Two.- 4. Collingwood's Unpublished Manuscripts.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 History and Realism: The Writings Before 1926.- 4.3 "Preliminary Discussion" (1927).- 4.4 Lectures on the Philosophy of History (1926).- 4.3 Outlines of a Philosophy of History (1928).- 4.6 Collingwood's Development.- 4.7 Lectures on the Philosophy of History: 1928-'32.- 4.8 Realty as History (1935).- 4.9 Notes on the History of Historiography and Philosophy of History (1936).- 4.10 Notes on Historiography (1938-'39).- 4.11 Folklore (1936-'37).- 4.12 Metaphysics and Cosmology (1933-'34).- 5. Collingwood as an Archaeologist and Historian.- 5.1 Introduction.- 5.2 Archaeology.- 5.2.1 Scientific Excavation.- 5.2.2 Excavations.- 5.2.3 The Archaeology of Roman Britain (1930).- 5.2.4 Planning of Research.- 5.3 Hadrian's Wall.- 5.3.1 Introduction.- 5.3.2 The Purpose of the Roman Wall (1921).- 5.3.3 Hadrian's Wall: A History of the Problem (1921,1931).- 5.3.4 Hadrian's Wall and Theory.- 5.4 History of Roman Britain.- 5.4.1 Roman Britain (1923, 1932).- 5.4.2 Roman Britain and the English Settlements (1936).- 5.4.3 Other Writings.- Three.- 6. The Historical Object.- 6.1 Action.- 6.2 Collingwood's Philosophy of Mind.- 6.3 Historical Process.- 7. Historical Method.- 7.1 History as a Science.- 7.2 Evidence.- 7.3 Question and Answer.- 7.4 Intuition.- 8. Some Controversial Issues.- 8.1 Past and Present.- 8.2 History as the Re-enactment of Past Thought.- 8.3 Corporate Mind.- 8.4 "Unconscious" Action.- 8.5 Causality and Objective Conditions.- 8.6 General Knowledge.- 8.7 Explanation and Understanding.- 8.8 Historical Objectivity.- 9. History and other Sciences.- 9.1 History and Natural Science.- 9.2 History and the Social Sciences.- 10. History and Practice.- 10.1 Introduction.- 10.2 Psychology.- 10.3 The Use of History.- Notes.- Appendices.- II. Lectures given by R. G. Collingwood.- III. Reports by R. G. Collingwood to the Faculty of Literae Humaniores.- IV. Letters from R. G. Collingwood.- Bibliographies.- I. List of manuscripts of R. G. Collingwood.- II. Works by R. G. Collingwood.- III. Reviews of works by R. G. Collingwood.- IV. Works by others.- Indices.- I. Subjects.- II. Names.