“An entire philosophy from a historical point of view”

This chapter discusses how R. G. Collingwood’s philosophy of history is both a descriptive metaphysics of history and a metaphilosophical elucidation of the relation between historical and philosophical thought. As a descriptive metaphysics, philosophy of history is, for Collingwood, essentially an inquiry into the fundamental principles and a priori concepts that guide history as a first-order science. This chapter places Collingwood in relation to the available alternatives today, arguing that Collingwood’s account needs to be central in any future philosophy of history. The metaphilosophical import of Collingwood’s philosophy of history is unpacked through an elaboration of Collingwood’s ideas about the historicity of human experience and understanding. Collingwood argued that the philosophy of history provided a key to all philosophy and a template for reforming it. In conclusion, this chapter articulates how the metaphilosophical dimension of Collingwood’s philosophy of history is integrally connected with the idea of philosophy as cultural self-understanding.