Abstract
Collingwood’s earlier ‘Function of Metaphysics in Civilization’ informs Van der Dussen’s reading of the better-known An Essay on Metaphysics. Van der Dussen claims that the latter does not so much argue for as assume that metaphysics is a historical discipline. Sympathetic, Van der Dussen argues that the metaphysician uncovers presuppositions, but it is the task of the special sciences to change them. It is only in relation to other metaphysicians that the Collingwoodian metaphysician can assume a critical role as opposed to a purely descriptive role. In the absence of such disputation, the Collingwoodian metaphysician works essentially as a historian. While Van der Dussen claims that Collingwood’s central argument in An Essay on Metaphysics is that metaphysics is a historical science, the book’s philosophical position is captured in only the first four chapters. As such the book itself exemplifies what Collingwood advocated in his Autobiography, the rapprochement of philosophy and history.
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Notes
- 1.
The quotation is from a section in PH entitled ‘Freedom’ (PH : 98–103). It was included by Knox in the Epilegomena of IH, with the title ‘History and Freedom’ (IH : 315–20). The reason that the quotation is taken from PH is that Knox has made two minor changes in the first sentence. On other occasions Knox has interfered with the text more seriously, however. For the first two paragraphs of ‘History and Freedom’ are of Knox’s own making (IH: 315), as is the case with the passage on the bottom of p. 319, from ‘I wish to point out’ to ‘that claim is groundless’. For a more extensive discussion of the way Knox sometimes manipulated the texts of Collingwood’s manuscripts, see Jan van der Dussen, ‘Collingwood’s “Lost” Manuscript of The Principles of History’, in (Van der Dussen 2016), in particular 43–5, 66–9.
- 2.
In a footnote the original text is given, which is from Spinoza’s Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, I, iv.: “I have striven not to laugh at human actions, not to weep at them, nor to hate them, but to understand them.”
- 3.
In a footnote the original text is given, which is from Fifteen Sermons Preached at the Rolls Chapel, N.7,16: “Things and actions are what they are, and the consequences of them will be what they will be. Why then should we desire to be deceived?”
- 4.
By scepticism Knox refers to the fact that in Collingwood’s view metaphysical presuppositions are neither true nor false, and by dogmatism that our attitude to our own absolute presuppositions is to be one of ‘unquestioning acceptance’.
- 5.
Only the last two essays will be dealt with here.
- 6.
Collingwood declares, referring to the absolute presuppositions of Newtonian, Kantian, and Einsteinian physics, that “every detail in these respective sciences depends on what absolute presuppositions they respectively make. But this does not mean that it depends on these presuppositions’ being thought true, or that the truth of the conclusions arrived at depends on the presuppositions’ being in fact true. For the logical efficacy of a supposition does not depend on its being true, nor even on its being thought true, but only on its being supposed … … It is a mistake, therefore, to fancy that by investigating the truth of their absolute presuppositions a metaphysician could show that one school of science was fundamentally right and another fundamentally wrong” (EM : 52–3).
- 7.
It reminds one of the way Walter Cronkite used to end the CBS Evening News—that is, recent history—with the phrase “That’s the way it is”.
- 8.
“[I]t [psychology as pseudo-science] is completely discredited among those (historians, &c.) whose business is to study human thought in its actuality” (PA : 171).
- 9.
That is indeed the case, and Collingwood also referred in IH, in his example of the devil-fearer, to his belief, even going so far as saying of the modern historian who does not believe in devils “that too is only a belief he has accepted” (IH: 318).
- 10.
After the passage where Collingwood says of science that it “seems to be … the simplest and most obvious case in which progress exists and is verifiable”, he says: “For this reason, those who have believed most strongly in progress have been much in the habit of appealing to the progress of science as the plainest proof that there is such a thing, and often, too, have based their hope of progress in other fields on the hope of making science the absolute mistress of human life” (IH : 332). Though Collingwood speaks in the past tense, it is the position Martin actually advocates.
- 11.
For an extensive discussion of Collingwood’s views on historical process and development, see (Van der Dussen 2012: 45–8, 62–7, 251–62, 331–3; or in 1981 ed.: 53–6, 66–72, 269–81, 353–5).
- 12.
The term ‘historicism’ has been the subject of much confusion. For besides referring to the German Historismus, it may also refer to the notion of historicism as used by Popper in his The Poverty of Historicism and The Open Society and its Enemies. For a survey of the confusion concerned—also as regards the terms historicism and historism—see (Van der Dussen 2012: 48–9; or 1981: 377–8).
- 13.
The German text reads: “Man hat der Historie das Amt, die Vergangenheit zu richten, die Mitwelt zum Nutzen zukünftiger Jahre zu belehren, beigemessen: so hoher Aemter unterwindet sich gegenwärtiger Versuch nicht: er will bloss zeigen, wie es eigentlich gewesen” (Von Ranke: 1824, v–vi).
- 14.
The German text reads: “Eine solche gleichsam mediatisirte Generation würde an und für sich eine Bedeutung nicht haben; sie würde nur insofern etwas bedeuten, als sie die Stufe der nachfolgenden Generation wäre, und würde nicht in unmittelbarem Bezug zum Göttlichen stehen. Ich aber behaupte: jede Epoche ist unmittelbar zu Gott, und ihr Wert beruht gar nicht auf dem, was aus ihr hervorgeht, sondern in ihrer Existenz selbst, in ihrem eigenen Selbst” (Von Ranke 1888: 5).
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van der Dussen, J. (2018). Collingwood on the Relationship Between Metaphysics and History. In: Dharamsi, K., D'Oro, G., Leach, S. (eds) Collingwood on Philosophical Methodology. Philosophers in Depth. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02432-1_4
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