Histories, Logics and Politics: An Interview with Mark Bevir

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Stow
Keyword(s):  
Continental Philosophy ◽  
History Of Ideas ◽  
Human Sciences ◽  
Ethical Dimension ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
Political Beliefs ◽  
Broad Array ◽  
History Of ◽  
Relationship Of

AbstractAlthough he has written extensively on a broad array of topics, Mark Bevir is most famous for his influential and controversial book The Logic of the History of Ideas (Cambridge University Press, 1999). In a wide-ranging interview, Bevir responds to a number of criticisms and mischaracterizations of the book, clarifies his aims in writing it, and identifies his relationship of his postfoundationalism to both analytical and continental philosophy. Additionally, Bevir articulates a hitherto unexpected ethical dimension to the work, suggesting that it seeks to provide for a philosophy of the human sciences that incorporates those capacities for agency and reasoning that make us fully human and are thus deserving of respect. As such, he connects the book to the broader web of moral and political beliefs that underpin his work as a whole.

scholarly journals Explanation and Understanding as Methods of Historical and Biographical Cognition

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 3-9
Author(s):  
Mykola Bakaiev
Keyword(s):  
Causal Explanation ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
History Of Ideas ◽  
Biographical Research ◽  
Rational Explanation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Understanding Function

Traditionally, explanation is considered to be the method of natural sciences and understanding to be the method of humanities. However, this paper considers both to be methods of history. Namely, the author focuses on how explanation and understanding function in history in general and in biography in particular. Referring to biographical realm helps explicate the specifics of explanation and understanding as well as broaden the view about their uses in humanities. In the first part, the author refers to explanation and understanding in history as such. In particular, causal explanation (explanatory sketch by Karl Hempel) and rational explanation (history of ideas by Mark Bevir) are considered in the paper along with the relationship of hermeneutic notion of understanding with the two. The second part of the paper deals with the functioning of explanation and understanding in biographical research. Namely, it considers biographical understanding by Tilmann Habermas and Neşe Hatiboğlu as well as cases of causal and rational explanations in biographical research. In particular, it is shown that while causal explanation occurs in biography as explanatory sketch, it is not a separate distinct notion. It is also shown that rational explanation is used in biographical reconstructions in order to clarify the influence of particular events on beliefs of people. Based on the materials involved, the author demonstrates the specifics of explanation and understanding in biography compared to their usage in historical cognition in general.

A Letter from the Editor

Utilitas ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
DALE E. MILLER
Keyword(s):  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
History Of Ideas ◽  
British History ◽  
Jeremy Bentham ◽  
Great Pleasure ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
Oxford University ◽  
Rutgers University ◽  
History Of ◽  
The University

As editor in chief of Utilitas, it is my great pleasure to announce the appointment of two new associate editors. Dr. Emmanuelle de Champs is Professor of British History and Civilisation at the University of Cergy-Pontoise. She is the author of Enlightenment and Utility: Bentham in France, Bentham in French (Cambridge University Press, 2015) and La déontologie politique ou La pensée constitutionnelle de Jeremy Bentham (Droz, 2008). Dr. Holly Smith is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University. Her Making Morality Work has just been published by Oxford University Press. So we have now strengthen our editorial roster in both the history of ideas and contemporary moral philosophy.

INTELLECTUAL HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY

2004 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
LLOYD KRAMER
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Intellectual History ◽  
History Of Ideas ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
History Of

Donald R. Kelley, The Descent of Ideas: The History of Intellectual History (Aldershot, England/Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2002)Mark Bevir, The Logic of the History of Ideas (Cambridge, England/New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999)

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