R.G.Collingwood: An Introduction

This text is part of the "Bristol Introductions" series which aims to present perspectives on philosophical themes, using non-technical language, for both the new and the advanced scholar. Why should modern philosophers read the works of R.G. Collingwood? His ideas are often thought difficult to locate in the main lines of development taken by 20th-century philosophy. Some have read Collingwood as anticipating the later Wittgenstein, others have concentrated exclusively on the internal coherence of his thought. This work introduces Collingwood to students of philosophy through direct engagement with his arguments. The text takes the form of a conversation with Collingwood on the topics that interested him: philosophy and method; philosophy of mind; language and logic; the historical imagination; art and expression; action; and metaphysics and life.