Re: Collingwood's Idea of History, Speculum Mentis & Gurdjieff's Primitive Cosmology
Quote from Luc
I couldn't have said it in any better way, Luc. As I finished reading the second chapter of IoH, I suddenly realized that Collingwood was describing and explaining the very core of how our worldview with its ideologies, its sacred cows, came into being along many centuries thanks to the unlimited power of our imagination and mind.
I also finally started to really understand why Laura´s first passion lays in history. Understanding history is understanding life as an ongoing process, nothing is fixed aside of our proverbial needs to control or deny reality as it is. What a waste of time seeing where our collective potential has been leading us in our days. That´s why I agree his books embody the mysterious gems of the non linear life structure in man.
I´m now all excited to read SM. First I wanted to reread part of IoH as I was alternating between the English and Spanish version because of some things I wasn´t sure I had grasped correctly, but I´ve decided to go directly with Collingwood´s second recommended book, and maybe have another read of both once I´ll be even more familiarized with his style of writing and peculiar art of setting step after step his explanations, to say the least, - in certain sense it reminds me of Agatha Christie´s work as a detective
Quote from Luc
What makes it so fascinating I think is that Collingwood doesn't just describe how this or that came into being historically; it's an attempt to describe the very fabric of reality, the structure behind thought, meta-laws that guide the collective thought of humanity that are otherwise invisible. This also makes it a demanding read - what he talks about takes place one level higher than ordinary philosophy, I think. It's not just shuffling around abstract fancies in one's head, it goes beyond that, he really pierces the illusion (or at least attempts to do so) that is our ordinary mental life. Don't know, I can't describe it better.
I couldn't have said it in any better way, Luc. As I finished reading the second chapter of IoH, I suddenly realized that Collingwood was describing and explaining the very core of how our worldview with its ideologies, its sacred cows, came into being along many centuries thanks to the unlimited power of our imagination and mind.
I also finally started to really understand why Laura´s first passion lays in history. Understanding history is understanding life as an ongoing process, nothing is fixed aside of our proverbial needs to control or deny reality as it is. What a waste of time seeing where our collective potential has been leading us in our days. That´s why I agree his books embody the mysterious gems of the non linear life structure in man.
I´m now all excited to read SM. First I wanted to reread part of IoH as I was alternating between the English and Spanish version because of some things I wasn´t sure I had grasped correctly, but I´ve decided to go directly with Collingwood´s second recommended book, and maybe have another read of both once I´ll be even more familiarized with his style of writing and peculiar art of setting step after step his explanations, to say the least, - in certain sense it reminds me of Agatha Christie´s work as a detective