An Essay on Metaphysics edition by R G Collingwood Politics Social Sciences eBooks
Download As PDF : An Essay on Metaphysics edition by R G Collingwood Politics Social Sciences eBooks 
This early work by Robin G. Collingwood was originally published in 1940 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'An Essay on Metaphysics' is an academic inquiry in the field of philosophy. Robin George Collingwood was born on 22nd February 1889, in Cartmel, England. He was the son of author, artist, and academic, W. G. Collingwood. He was greatly influenced by the Italian Idealists Croce, Gentile, and Guido de Ruggiero. Another important influence was his father, a professor of fine art and a student of Ruskin. He published many works of philosophy, such as Speculum Mentis (1924), An Essay on Philosophic Method (1933), and An Essay on Metaphysics (1940).
An Essay on Metaphysics edition by R G Collingwood Politics Social Sciences eBooks
Complete intellectual substance and incidentally a delight. Buy this book. Read it. You will read it repeatedly. You will not regret it, and likely you will give copies to friends. (Google Collingwood and find a lot of samples of his writing, even some of this book. If nothing there persuades you to buy this book.... His books on history and nature are worth the money, time, and effort too. In all cases the writing is a pleasure to read.)Product details
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An Essay on Metaphysics edition by R G Collingwood Politics Social Sciences eBooks Reviews
Robin George Collingwood (1889-1943) was an English philosopher and historian, who wrote other books such as An Essay on Metaphysics,The Idea of History,The Idea of Nature,An Autobiography, etc.
[NOTE page numbers below refer to a 354-page paperback edition.]
He wrote in the Preface to this 1939 book, “This is not so much a book of metaphysics as a book about metaphysics. What I have chiefly tried to do with it is neither to expound my own metaphysical ideas, nor to criticize the metaphysical ideas of other people; but to explain what metaphysics is, why it is necessary to the well-being and advancement of knowledge, and how it is to be pursued… I have offered to the reader’s attention a few examples of metaphysics itself, in order to show how metaphysical inquiry will be conducted if the principles laid down in the opening chapters are taken as sound.”
He explains, “I will try to state so much of this theory as seems necessary for my present purpose. For the sake of reference later on, I will state it… in numbered propositions… In expounding these propositions I shall not be trying to convince the reader of anything, but only to remind him of what he already knows perfectly well.” (Pg. 23)
He states, “All metaphysical questions are historical questions, and all metaphysical propositions are historical propositions. Every metaphysical question either is simply the question about absolute presuppositions were made on a certain occasion, or is capable of being resolved into a number of such questions together with a further question or further questions arising out of these.” (Pg. 48) He adds, “Metaphysics has always been an historical science; but metaphysicians have not always been fully aware of the fact.” (Pg. 58) He continues, “The problems of metaphysics are historical problems; its methods are historical methods.” (Pg. 62) But he clarifies, “Metaphysics, aware of itself as an historical science, will abandon once for all the hope of being a ‘deductive’ or quasi-mathematical science.” (Pg. 67) And “the conception of metaphysics as a ‘deductive’ science is not only an error but a pernicious error, one with which a reformed metaphysics will have no truce.” (Pg. 76)
He asserts, “My suspicions are… about the status of psychology as the pseudo-science of thought which claims to usurp the field of logic and ethics in all their various branches, including political science, aesthetics, economics, and whatever other criteriological sciences there may be, and finally of metaphysics. In these fields I find it to be a fact that psychological inquiries have proved absolutely incapable of adding anything to our knowledge.” (Pg. 142)
He gives an example “One need only accept Aristotle’s identification of theology with metaphysics to conclude that the Christian Church has always taught that metaphysics is an historical science. I do not say that it has taught all the implications of this principle. For example, it has not consistently taught that there can be no proof of God’s existence. Inconsistency on this point is easy to understand. The words are ambiguous. That God exists is not a proposition, it is a presupposition… It can be neither proved nor disproved. But a person accustomed to metaphysical thinking … will automatically … read ‘we believe (i.e. presuppose in all our thinking) that God exists.’ Here is something which … is either true or false… If ‘God exists’ means ‘somebody believes that God exists’…it is capable of proof. The proof must of course be an historical proof, and the evidence on which it is based will be certain ways in which this ‘somebody’ thinks.” (Pg. 188)
He adds, “once it is realized that Anselm’s [Ontological] proof [of God] is a metaphysical argument, and therefore an historical argument, it can no longer be regarded as a weakness that it should take its stand on historical evidence. What it proves is… that because our idea of God is an idea… we stand committed to belief in God’s existence.” (Pg. 190)
He points out, “a biological ‘mechanist,’ like any other scientist in the tradition of Galileo, is working on presuppositions that no experience can confirm and no experiment verify. When he says that the book of nature is written in the language of mathematics, he does not mean only that the pages of this book have been found to be written in this language… He means that the book of nature is quite certainly written in that language from end to end. It is an absolute ‘presupposition,’ in other words a matter of ‘faith.’ Galileo is deliberately applying to ‘nature’ the principle which Augustine laid down with regard to the Holy Scriptures…” (Pg. 255-256) He adds, “I do not know why the logical positivists have not thus pilloried as nonsensical the principle that mathematics is applicable to everything in nature… they let it pass, and to ease their consciences drop heavily upon the proposition ‘God exists’… If they knew a little more about the history of science, they would know that the belief in the possibility of applied mathematics is only one part of the belief in God.” (Pg. 256-257)
He concludes, “If so many philosophers have turned traitor to their calling, it is because they have failed to distinguish metaphysics from pseudo-metaphysics… This is my reason for offering to the public what might seem essentially like an academic essay… The fate of European science and European civilization is at stake. The gravity of the peril lies especially in the fact that so few recognize any peril to exist… I am only a professorial goose, consecrated with a cap and gown and fed at a college table; but cackling is my job, and cackle I will.” (Pg. 343)
This book will be of keen interest to anyone studying Collingwood, or contemporary metaphysics.
Robin George Collingwood (1889-1943) was an English philosopher and historian, who wrote other books such as The Idea of History,The Idea of Nature,An Autobiography, etc.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1939 book, “This is not so much a book of metaphysics as a book about metaphysics. What I have chiefly tried to do with it is neither to expound my own metaphysical ideas, nor to criticize the metaphysical ideas of other people; but to explain what metaphysics is, why it is necessary to the well-being and advancement of knowledge, and how it is to be pursued… I have offered to the reader’s attention a few examples of metaphysics itself, in order to show how metaphysical inquiry will be conducted if the principles laid down in the opening chapters are taken as sound.”
He explains, “I will try to state so much of this theory as seems necessary for my present purpose. For the sake of reference later on, I will state it… in numbered propositions… In expounding these propositions I shall not be trying to convince the reader of anything, but only to remind him of what he already knows perfectly well.” (Pg. 23)
He states, “All metaphysical questions are historical questions, and all metaphysical propositions are historical propositions. Every metaphysical question either is simply the question about absolute presuppositions were made on a certain occasion, or is capable of being resolved into a number of such questions together with a further question or further questions arising out of these.” (Pg. 48) He adds, “Metaphysics has always been an historical science; but metaphysicians have not always been fully aware of the fact.” (Pg. 58) He continues, “The problems of metaphysics are historical problems; its methods are historical methods.” (Pg. 62) But he clarifies, “Metaphysics, aware of itself as an historical science, will abandon once for all the hope of being a ‘deductive’ or quasi-mathematical science.” (Pg. 67) And “the conception of metaphysics as a ‘deductive’ science is not only an error but a pernicious error, one with which a reformed metaphysics will have no truce.” (Pg. 76)
He asserts, “My suspicions are… about the status of psychology as the pseudo-science of thought which claims to usurp the field of logic and ethics in all their various branches, including political science, aesthetics, economics, and whatever other criteriological sciences there may be, and finally of metaphysics. In these fields I find it to be a fact that psychological inquiries have proved absolutely incapable of adding anything to our knowledge.” (Pg. 142)
He gives an example “One need only accept Aristotle’s identification of theology with metaphysics to conclude that the Christian Church has always taught that metaphysics is an historical science. I do not say that it has taught all the implications of this principle. For example, it has not consistently taught that there can be no proof of God’s existence. Inconsistency on this point is easy to understand. The words are ambiguous. That God exists is not a proposition, it is a presupposition… It can be neither proved nor disproved. But a person accustomed to metaphysical thinking … will automatically … read ‘we believe (i.e. presuppose in all our thinking) that God exists.’ Here is something which … is either true or false… If ‘God exists’ means ‘somebody believes that God exists’…it is capable of proof. The proof must of course be an historical proof, and the evidence on which it is based will be certain ways in which this ‘somebody’ thinks.” (Pg. 188)
He adds, “once it is realized that Anselm’s [Ontological] proof [of God] is a metaphysical argument, and therefore an historical argument, it can no longer be regarded as a weakness that it should take its stand on historical evidence. What it proves is… that because our idea of God is an idea… we stand committed to belief in God’s existence.” (Pg. 190)
He points out, “a biological ‘mechanist,’ like any other scientist in the tradition of Galileo, is working on presuppositions that no experience can confirm and no experiment verify. When he says that the book of nature is written in the language of mathematics, he does not mean only that the pages of this book have been found to be written in this language… He means that the book of nature is quite certainly written in that language from end to end. It is an absolute ‘presupposition,’ in other words a matter of ‘faith.’ Galileo is deliberately applying to ‘nature’ the principle which Augustine laid down with regard to the Holy Scriptures…” (Pg. 255-256) He adds, “I do not know why the logical positivists have not thus pilloried as nonsensical the principle that mathematics is applicable to everything in nature… they let it pass, and to ease their consciences drop heavily upon the proposition ‘God exists’… If they knew a little more about the history of science, they would know that the belief in the possibility of applied mathematics is only one part of the belief in God.” (Pg. 256-257)
He concludes, “If so many philosophers have turned traitor to their calling, it is because they have failed to distinguish metaphysics from pseudo-metaphysics… This is my reason for offering to the public what might seem essentially like an academic essay… The fate of European science and European civilization is at stake. The gravity of the peril lies especially in the fact that so few recognize any peril to exist… I am only a professorial goose, consecrated with a cap and gown and fed at a college table; but cackling is my job, and cackle I will.” (Pg. 343)
This book will be of keen interest to anyone studying Collingwood, or contemporary metaphysics.
Very interesting subject but this book is somewhat difficult to read, but still I like it and intend to get through it
Complete intellectual substance and incidentally a delight. Buy this book. Read it. You will read it repeatedly. You will not regret it, and likely you will give copies to friends. (Google Collingwood and find a lot of samples of his writing, even some of this book. If nothing there persuades you to buy this book.... His books on history and nature are worth the money, time, and effort too. In all cases the writing is a pleasure to read.)
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