A man ceases to be a beginner in any given science and becomes a master in that science when he has learned that... he is going to be a beginner all his life.
Robin G. CollingwoodRead
To the scientist, nature is always and merely a 'phenomenon,' not in the sense of being defective in reality, but in the sense of being a spectacle presented to his intelligent observation; whereas the events of history are never mere phenomena, never mere spectacles for contemplation, but things which the historian looks, not at, but through, to discern the thought within them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the difference between how scientists and historians perceive their subjects, with scientists viewing nature as a spectacle and historians seeking to understand the underlying thoughts in history.
In this quote, Robin G. Collingwood presents a profound distinction between the ways scientists and historians engage with their respective fields. For scientists, nature is perceived as a phenomenon to be observed, analyzed, and understood through empirical evidence, a spectacle that aids in the advancement of knowledge. In contrast, historians approach events in history not merely as observable phenomena but as complex narratives filled with human thought and intention, urging them to delve deeper to grasp the motivations and ideas that shape historical events. This highlights the depth of historical inquiry compared to scientific observation.
Themes
NatureHistorySciencePhenomenonObservationThought
In practice
Example use cases
In a lecture on the philosophy of science, this quote could illustrate the difference between observational studies and interpretive history.
More from Robin G. Collingwood
All quotes →History is for human self-knowledge. Knowing yourself means knowing, first, what it is to be a person; secondly, knowing what it is to be the kind of person you are; and thirdly, knowing what it is to be the person you are and nobody else is. Knowing yourself means knowing what you can do; and since nobody knows what they can do until they try, the only clue to what man can do is what man has done. The value of history, then, is that it teaches us what man has done and thus what man is.
Robin G. CollingwoodRead
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