About the Book: Collingwoods The Idea of History
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