Collingwood's The Idea of History: A Reader's Guide

By Peter Johnson

History : Historiography

Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: December 2012

ISBN: 9781441118578

Digital Book format: ePub (Adobe DRM)

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The Idea of History is the best known work of the Oxford philosopher and historian RG Collingwood. Published posthumously in 1946 it is, in effect, two books: a historiography and a philosophy of history. Students look to Collingwood for a history of thinking about history, and to discover his ideas about the nature of historical understanding. It is an indispensable text for historians and philosophers yet it is also highly challenging and many of Collingwoods innovations have been seriously misunderstood. The primary focus of this book is on Collingwoods actual arguments, especially the most radical of these, with the aim of elucidating their construction and appraising them in the clearest possible way. This guide is the ideal companion to Collingwoods classic text both for students coming to it for the first time and for those wishing to consider its arguments afresh. It offers clear and concise accounts of the books composition; the intellectual context of Collingwoods ideas; its central arguments concerning the nature of history; and its reception and influence.