Philosophy of History

Course Description

Philosophy of History introduces undergraduate education students to the fundamental concepts of social science, especially the discipline of historical studies. First, it looks back into the history of the philosophy of history, and at the spectrum of philosophical positions and issues about the discipline of history. Second, it looks into the method of thinking that defines science, and explores the discussions on whether social reality—especially history—can be addressed scientifically. Third, it evaluates R.G. Collingwood’s theory of historical explanation. Finally, it compares the competing correspondence and coherence theories of historical truth.

Course Objectives

At the end of the course, the student must be able to

1. Recount the history of philosophical thinking about historical studies;
2. Characterize the scientific method of thinking;
3. Decide rationally whether historical studies is a scientific discipline or not;
4. Elaborate on what is demanded by a historical explanation of events;
5. Differentiate between the correspondence and coherence theories of historical truth; and
6. Establish the possibility of historical objectivity.

Course Outline

Introduction: What is philosophy of history?

1. Brief history of the subject
2. Critical and speculative philosophy of history
3. History and other forms of knowledge
4. Truth and fact in history
5. Historical objectivity
6. Explanation in history

II History and the sciences

1. History and sense perception
2. Features of scientific knowledge
   • Systematically ordered knowledge
   • General character of propositions
   • Usefulness of knowledge for control or prediction
   • Objectivity of knowledge
3. History and scientific knowledge
4. Two theories of historical thinking
   • Idealist theory
   • Positivist theory

III Historical explanation

1. Collingwood’s theory of history
2. Criticisms of Collingwood’s theory
3. ‘Colligation’ in history
4. History and knowledge of human nature
5. Difficulties in this conception

IV Truth and fact in history

1. Two theories of truth
2. History and the correspondence theory
3. History and the coherence theory
4. Criticisms of the intermediate position

V Can history be objective?

1. Importance of the notion of objectivity in history
2. Preliminary statement of the problem
3. Factors making for disagreements among historians
4. Historical skepticism
5. The perspective theory
6. The theory of an objective historical consciousness

Supplementary References

Philosophy of Science

Angier, N. (2007). Thinking scientifically: an out-of-body experience. The canon: a whirligig tour of the beautiful basics of science. Boston: Mariner Books. Pp. 18-46.

Bronowski, J. (1965). Truth and value. The common sense of science. New York: Vintage Books. Pp. 119-35.

Butterfield, H. (1965). The origins of modern science: 1300-1800, rev. ed. New York: The Free Press.

Chalmers, A.F. (1999). What is this thing called science? Indianapolis: Hackett Pub.

Feynman, R.P. (1967). The character of physical law. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press.

Feynman, R.P. (1999). What is science? The pleasure of finding things out: the best short works of Richard P. Feynman, ed. J. Robbins, foreword by F. Dyson. New York: Basic Books. Pp. 171-88.

Green, T.H. (1991). The philosophy of science. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University.

Langley, P., H.A. Simon, G.L. Bradshaw & J.M. Zytkow (1987). Scientific discovery: computational explorations of the creative processes. Cambridge, Mass.: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Longino, H.E. (1990). Science as social knowledge: values and objectivity in scientific inquiry. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.

Magnus, P.D. (2013). Philosophy of science in the twenty-first century. Metaphilosophy, Vol. 44, Issue ½, pp. 48052. DOI: 10.1111/meta.12001.

Poincare, H. (1952). Science and hypothesis. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.

Popper, K.R. (1959). The logic of scientific discovery. New York: Basic Books.

Rapport, S. and H. Wright, eds. (1963). Science: method and meaning. New York: Washington Square Press.

Rosenberg, A. (2012). Philosophy of science: a contemporary introduction, 3rd ed. New York: Routledge.

Sullivan, J.W.N. (1933). The values of science. The limitations of science: a creative scientist’s approach to the unknown. New York: Mentor Books. Pp. 150-75.

Toulmin, S. (1960). The philosophy of science: an introduction. New York: Harper Torchbooks.

Philosophy of Social Science

Frazer, E. (1995). What’s new in the philosophy of social science? Oxford Review of Education, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 267-81. Database: ERIC.

Hollis, M. (1994). The philosophy of social science: an introduction. Cambridge University Press.

Jarvie, I.C. & J. Zamora-Bonilla (2011). The SAGE handbook of the philosophy of social sciences. London: SAGE.

Manicas, P.T. (2006). A realist philosophy of social science: explanation and understanding. Cambridge University Press.

Martin, M. & L.C. McIntyre (1994). Readings in the philosophy of social science. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

Root, M. (1993). Philosophy of social science: the methods, ideals, and politics of social inquiry. Oxford: Blackwell.

Rudner, R.S. (1966). Philosophy of social science. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

Sosenko, F. (2012). Non-fiction literature and interpretive/ qualitative research methods: reflections on the meaning of ‘social science.’ Methodological Innovations, Vol. 7, Issue 2, pp. 41-63. DOI: 10.4256/mio.2012.010. Database: SocINDEX with Full Text.

Winch, P. (1958). The idea of a social science and its relation to philosophy. Studies in Philosophical Psychology, ed. R.F. Holland. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, Ltd.

Philosophy of History

Collingwood, R.G. (1956). The idea of history. London: Oxford University Press.

den Akker, C.V. (2012). The exemplification theory of history: narrativist philosophy and the autonomy of history. Journal of the Philosophy of History, Vol. 6, Issue 2, pp. 236-257. DOI: 10.1163/187226312X650764.

Gorman, J. (1992). Understanding history: an introduction to analytical philosophy of history. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press.

Jaja, J.M. (2012). History, creativity and philosophy: a critical relationship. Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences, Vol. 3, Issue 4, pp. 871-882.

Lemon, M.C. (2003). Philosophy of history: a guide for students. London: Routledge.

Leuridan, B. & A. Froeyman (2012). On lawfulness in history and historiography. History & Theory, Vol. 51, Issue 2, pp. 172-192. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2303.2012.00620.x.

Toynbee, A.J. (1946). A study of history. Abridgement of Volumes I-VI by D.C. Somervell. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Tucker, A. (2011). A companion to the philosophy of history and historiography. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.