New Historicism. Issue 3: The Historical Thought of R.G. Collingwood

Author: Chen Heng et al
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: This issue mainly selects several articles of Collingwood from the edited collection Essays in the Philosophy of History by Dibben, and also chooses several research articles from the numerous Western studies on Collingwood. Collingwood's The Philosophy of History and The Nature and Purpose of the Philosophy of History are general essays where he views history as an impromptu performance and, as always, emphasizes the importance of secondary thought. The Theory of Historical Cycles and Oswald Spengler's Theory of Historical Cycles involve the long-standing theory of historical cycles and the once-famous German philosopher Spengler, whom Collingwood heavily mocked, comprehensively countering the absolute necessity of historical morphology, but generally regarded historical cycle theory as a perspective-based perception, a function of the limitations of historical knowledge. Most of the research papers are critical. Collingwood's Theory of Historiography is the author's conclusion after examining Collingwood's works in terms of subject matter and methodology, representing the general understanding of Collingwood in Western academia. The author's original contribution still lies in reflecting on the issues. Mr. Collingwood on Philosophical Method aims to demand precision, where facts and concepts are intertwined, and the constant use of "Mr." leaves one unsure of the correctness. Collingwood: The Influence of His Father and Croce's Influence on Collingwood involve a public case about the origins of Collingwood's theories—did Croce influence Collingwood? Are Croce and Collingwood in harmony? Collingwood on Reflective Thought is self-explanatory, as reflection is one of the hot topics discussed in Western academia. Dreier's critique of the inconsistency of the reflection concept is worth attention. Review of Collingwood's Criticism of Toynbee makes one feel that Collingwood's critique has some shortcomings, as Toynbee's naturalistic principles may not be as rigid. And Was Collingwood Misunderstood? is a declaration from a passionate defender, representing the trend in Western academia to rethink Collingwood's thought.