The Philosophy Of History
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Good
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
What does it mean to truly understand the past — and can history ever be a science? The Philosophy of History, edited by Patrick Gardiner, is a landmark anthology in the Oxford Readings in Philosophy series that assembles some of the most penetrating and influential essays ever written on the nature of historical knowledge, explanation, and interpretation. Gardiner curates a rigorous selection of texts drawn from towering thinkers — including Hempel, Dray, and Collingwood — each grappling with questions that sit at the crossroads of philosophy and historical inquiry: What constitutes a historical explanation? Is there such a thing as historical objectivity? Can historians truly understand the minds of those who lived centuries before them? This collection stands as an essential cornerstone of analytic philosophy of history, presenting arguments that range from the positivist case for covering-law explanations to hermeneutic defences of empathetic understanding. Gardiner's editorial hand is precise and authoritative, organizing the debate with clarity and intellectual honesty that rewards both the specialist and the curious newcomer. The tensions between these competing visions of history — as science, as narrative, as interpretation — remain as urgent and unresolved today as when these essays were first written, leaving the reader to wonder whether the past can ever truly be known.
Author: Patrick Gardiner
Format: Paperback
Genre: Philosophy
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Good
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
What does it mean to truly understand the past — and can history ever be a science? The Philosophy of History, edited by Patrick Gardiner, is a landmark anthology in the Oxford Readings in Philosophy series that assembles some of the most penetrating and influential essays ever written on the nature of historical knowledge, explanation, and interpretation. Gardiner curates a rigorous selection of texts drawn from towering thinkers — including Hempel, Dray, and Collingwood — each grappling with questions that sit at the crossroads of philosophy and historical inquiry: What constitutes a historical explanation? Is there such a thing as historical objectivity? Can historians truly understand the minds of those who lived centuries before them? This collection stands as an essential cornerstone of analytic philosophy of history, presenting arguments that range from the positivist case for covering-law explanations to hermeneutic defences of empathetic understanding. Gardiner's editorial hand is precise and authoritative, organizing the debate with clarity and intellectual honesty that rewards both the specialist and the curious newcomer. The tensions between these competing visions of history — as science, as narrative, as interpretation — remain as urgent and unresolved today as when these essays were first written, leaving the reader to wonder whether the past can ever truly be known.