Philosophy of History: Twenty-First-Century Perspectives

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With a recent surge of interest in the field, a volume taking stock of important theoretical shifts in the philosophy of history is greatly needed. A Philosophy of History fills this gap by weaving together a range of perspectives on the field which finds itself at a crossroads, and asks where it is headed in the 21st century. The book takes a concerted effort to go beyond the customary three-fold distinction between the speculative, analytic and narrativist approaches in philosophy of history. It considers, what comes after the enduring 'narrativist turn'. Chapters incorporate cutting-edge discussions on the relevance of contemporary political phenomena such as populism, the relation between science and history, pragmatism and the paradigmatic challenge of the Anthropocene. It also re-evaluates the continued relevance of major historical thinkers like Leibniz and R.G. Collingwood, and the endlessly fresh insights they can offer to key debates in the field today. Philosophy of History is a much-needed reappraisal of the philosophy and theory of history; offering an up-to-date overview of major developments in the field, and addressing the pressing questions of where to go next in a 'post-analytical', 'post-narrativist' world.

Reviews

J-M Kuukkanen writes in his introduction that philosophers, theorists, and perhaps historians and other scholars interested in history are eagerly looking for new organizing principles. The informed and well-argued contributions to this collection offer many different organizing principles, drawing from both the analytic and continental traditions in relating not only history and philosophy but also broadly conceived forms of critical theory at times contesting anthropocentrism. The reader is offered insight into significant contemporary approaches as well as bases for developing complementary or divergent ones * Dominick LaCapra, Professor Emeritus of History, Cornell University, USA *
This collection of essays by leading exponents of that ever-changing field, the philosophy of history, lives up to its design as a "conceptual map" of the intellectual terrain. Editor Jouni-Matti Kuukkanen has enlisted leaders from several generations to chart the future of a resurgent discourse. Above all, this work addresses the tension between the humanistic and the post-humanistic in the "time of the anthropocene." The call for cooperation between scholars endorsing popular history and the "more than human past" is timely and invigorating. Insofar as these essays forecast intellectual developments in the twenty-first century, the return of the philosophy of history should be celebrated. * Hans Kellner, Professor of History, NC State University, USA *
[This book] should be of interest to all those concerned with that strained relationship between philosophy of history and the practices of historians as they try to navigate a way forward in the uncertain times that lie ahead. * Keith Jenkins, Emeritus Professor of Historical Theory, University of Chichester, UK *
Is philosophy of history in 2020 just a subject with a great past, as Paul Feyerabend famously claimed for philosophy of science in 1970 - implying that it had no future This volume takes this question seriously and presents a wide variety of answers, exhibiting the very vitality of the field. An indispensable compass in our times of New Obscurity. * Chris Lorenz, Em. Professor of Philosophy of History, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands *

Author Bio

Jouni-Matti Kuukkanen is Associate Professor in Philosophy at the University of Oulu in Finland. He is the author of Postnarrativist Philosophy of Historiography (2015).