Extra flashcards II

Question 1

R.G. Collingwood

Answer 1

History doesn’t exist; the past simply doesn’t exist, it used to exist, but it no longer does.

Question 1

Difference between Marx and later Marxist thinkers

Answer 1

Marx himself emphasises freedom, but later Marxist thinkers suggest the inevitability of communism. This is dangerous, because it removes human freedom, criticism, democracy.

Question 2

Difference cause and reason

Answer 2

• Cause: subject to laws, just is there (can’t be a good or bad cause)
  
  • It makes no sense to question whether the volcano should have erupted or not.
  • Reason: subject to decision, can always be good or bad
  • It makes sense to hit someone if they talk bad about you; maybe it was a good reason, maybe bad.

Question 3

Causal explanation

Answer 3

I hit someone because my brain and nerves triggered my movements.

Question 4

Re-anactment (Collingwood)

Answer 4

To place yourself in the shoes of a historical person so that you can recreate their thought processes in your own mind. So, then you can understand why they acted the way they did.

Question 5

Hayden White

Answer 5

Develops a theory of history; no way of writing history is more realistic than any other.

Question 6

White’s genres

Answer 6

• Romance: good over evil
  
  • Comedy: opposing forces are reconciliated
  • Tragedy: high ideals fail, but we learn to accept our limitations
  • Satire: nothing has a deeper meaning, all of the above are examples of wishful thinking

Question 7

How would White classify other thinkers?

Answer 7

• Hegel = comic historian
  
  • Hempel = tragic narratives (where we learn to accept the laws)