What do you think?
Rate this book
Philosophy of History
This update of the original version focuses on six central problems in the critical philosophy of history and explores the connections among them. Starting with the fundamentals of each philosophical topic in history and then delving into the specifics of each to better understand the surrounding issues, the reference first offers a comprehensive introduction into these topics then covers explanation and understanding ... objectivity and value judgment .. causes in history ... the nature and role of narrative ... and historical determinism. Suitable for students, professors, and anyone else interested in the philosophy of history.
160 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1964
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 21, 2019
Not a particularly enjoyable read, but still a worthwhile one. Dray's book breaks down into a brief introduction and five intellectually challenging chapters organized around topics that form some of the core debates within philosophy of history:
1. Introduction: Dray carefully delineates the difference between critical and speculative philosophy of history, and then explains why his work will concentrate solely on the former (i.e., dealing with the very nature of historical inquiry and validity of historical reasoning).
1. Explanation and Understanding: Dray spends much of this chapter contrasting positivism and idealism, mostly by stating the main contentions of their respective proponents.
2. Objectivity and Value Judgement: Dray examines whether the past can be portrayed "as it really was" (objectivism) or whether historical understanding is limited to varying perspectives (relativism).
3. Historical Causes: The problems associated with causality are reviewed, and Collingwood's call for a "special" historical sense of causality ("affording a responsible person a motive for acting") is defined.
4. The Nature and Role of Narrative: By far the most approachable chapter, Dray does a serviceable job highlighting A. the depth of the debate surrounding whether narrative is inherently an explanatory methodology and B. how narrative "configures" historical discussions (i.e., historians typically ask "how does this event fit / relate within its particular context?").
5. Historical Determinism: Probably the least approachable chapter, in which the subtle nuances of such notions as linear inevitability and scientific determinism are examined and discussed.
1. Introduction: Dray carefully delineates the difference between critical and speculative philosophy of history, and then explains why his work will concentrate solely on the former (i.e., dealing with the very nature of historical inquiry and validity of historical reasoning).
1. Explanation and Understanding: Dray spends much of this chapter contrasting positivism and idealism, mostly by stating the main contentions of their respective proponents.
2. Objectivity and Value Judgement: Dray examines whether the past can be portrayed "as it really was" (objectivism) or whether historical understanding is limited to varying perspectives (relativism).
3. Historical Causes: The problems associated with causality are reviewed, and Collingwood's call for a "special" historical sense of causality ("affording a responsible person a motive for acting") is defined.
4. The Nature and Role of Narrative: By far the most approachable chapter, Dray does a serviceable job highlighting A. the depth of the debate surrounding whether narrative is inherently an explanatory methodology and B. how narrative "configures" historical discussions (i.e., historians typically ask "how does this event fit / relate within its particular context?").
5. Historical Determinism: Probably the least approachable chapter, in which the subtle nuances of such notions as linear inevitability and scientific determinism are examined and discussed.
Displaying 1 of 1 review