Christopher Fear
Biographic Data
| ID | 2089779 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Christopher Fear |
| GIVEN NAMES | Christopher |
| FAMILY NAME | Fear |
| SIGNATURE | FEAR C |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Hull |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5331-2476 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 8 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 2 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 8 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2013 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Enoch Powell’s Reading of Nietzsche
R. G. Collingwood’s Overlapping Ideas of History
Does R. G. Collingwood’s theory that concepts in philosophy are organized as “scales of forms” apply to his own work on the nature of history? Or is there some inconsistency between Collingwood’s work as a philosopher of history and as a theorist of philosophical method? This article surveys existing views among Collingwood specialists concerning the applicability of Collingwood’s “scale of forms” thesis to his own philosophy of history – especia…
The ‘dialectical’ theory of conservatism
Recently, James Alexander has proposed a ‘dialectical definition’ of conservatism which, he believes, goes beyond ‘dispositional’ definitions, such as those proposed by Brennan and Hamlin, and by Martin Beckstein, which are ‘incomplete’.1 Alexander argues that, by focusing on conservative responses to ‘ruptures’ of continuity, his expanded account exposes the ‘fundamentally contradictory’ nature of conservative thought.2 This article offers a cri…
Collingwood's New Leviathan and classical elite theory
R. G. Collingwood's New Leviathan (1942) presents an account of two ‘dialectical’ political processes that are ongoing in any body politic. Existing scholarship has already covered the first: a dialectic between a ‘social’ and a ‘non-social’ element, which Collingwood identifies in Hobbes. This essay elucidates a second: a dialectic between Liberals and Conservatives, which regulates the ‘percolation’ of liberty and the rate of recruitment into w…
Was he right?” R. G. Collingwood’s Rapprochement between Philosophy and History
R. G. Collingwood’s declaration that belief in “eternal questions” in philosophy is “merely a vulgar error, consequent on a kind of historical myopia which, deceived by superficial resemblances, failed to detect profound differences” has been vigorously discussed over the last sixty years, thanks partly to its resurrection by Quentin Skinner. But another of Collingwood’s provocative claims has been relatively neglected. If the claims and argument…
William E. Connolly's Politics of Complexity: A Critique
In recent years, William E. Connolly has argued that the phenomenon of complexity in the physical sciences carries radical implications for political theory: namely, that political theorists should now be revising their concepts of agency, responsibility, and freedom. This very recent project of Connolly's has not (yet) attracted much opposition. Here I offer a critique of Connolly's argument which focuses on three key areas: (1) how he interpret…
History as thought and action. The philosophies of Croce, Gentile, de Ruggiero and Collingwood
Forty years ago Quentin Skinner effectively consigned vague claims about 'influence' to the dustbin of historiographical method.'Influence' is, he said, often hard to establish, spurious, and oftener still it is more or less un-evidenced -excepting the 'evidence' of one thing resembling another (Skinner 2002, 75-9).In recent years specialists in the thought of R.G.Collingwood have mostly proved a little evasive on the question of his influences.J…
The question-and-answer logic of historical context
Quentin Skinner has enduringly insisted that a past text cannot be ‘understood’ without the reader knowing something about its historical and linguistic context. But since the 1970s he has been attacked on this central point of all his work by authors maintaining that the text itself is the fundamental guide to the author’s intention, and that a separate study of the context cannot tell the historian anything that the text itself could not. Mark …
History as thought and action. The philosophies of Croce, Gentile, de Ruggiero and Collingwood
Forty years ago Quentin Skinner effectively consigned vague claims about 'influence' to the dustbin of historiographical method.'Influence' is, he said, often hard to establish, spurious, and oftener still it is more or less un-evidenced -excepting the 'evidence' of one thing resembling another (Skinner 2002, 75-9).In recent years specialists in the thought of R.G.Collingwood have mostly proved a little evasive on the question of his influences.J…
The question-and-answer logic of historical context
Quentin Skinner has enduringly insisted that a past text cannot be ‘understood’ without the reader knowing something about its historical and linguistic context. But since the 1970s he has been attacked on this central point of all his work by authors maintaining that the text itself is the fundamental guide to the author’s intention, and that a separate study of the context cannot tell the historian anything that the text itself could not. Mark …
The question-and-answer logic of historical context
Quentin Skinner has enduringly insisted that a past text cannot be ‘understood’ without the reader knowing something about its historical and linguistic context. But since the 1970s he has been attacked on this central point of all his work by authors maintaining that the text itself is the fundamental guide to the author’s intention, and that a separate study of the context cannot tell the historian anything that the text itself could not. Mark …
History as thought and action. The philosophies of Croce, Gentile, de Ruggiero and Collingwood
Forty years ago Quentin Skinner effectively consigned vague claims about 'influence' to the dustbin of historiographical method.'Influence' is, he said, often hard to establish, spurious, and oftener still it is more or less un-evidenced -excepting the 'evidence' of one thing resembling another (Skinner 2002, 75-9).In recent years specialists in the thought of R.G.Collingwood have mostly proved a little evasive on the question of his influences.J…
Was he right?” R. G. Collingwood’s Rapprochement between Philosophy and History
R. G. Collingwood’s declaration that belief in “eternal questions” in philosophy is “merely a vulgar error, consequent on a kind of historical myopia which, deceived by superficial resemblances, failed to detect profound differences” has been vigorously discussed over the last sixty years, thanks partly to its resurrection by Quentin Skinner. But another of Collingwood’s provocative claims has been relatively neglected. If the claims and argument…
William E. Connolly's Politics of Complexity: A Critique
In recent years, William E. Connolly has argued that the phenomenon of complexity in the physical sciences carries radical implications for political theory: namely, that political theorists should now be revising their concepts of agency, responsibility, and freedom. This very recent project of Connolly's has not (yet) attracted much opposition. Here I offer a critique of Connolly's argument which focuses on three key areas: (1) how he interpret…
Collingwood's New Leviathan and classical elite theory
R. G. Collingwood's New Leviathan (1942) presents an account of two ‘dialectical’ political processes that are ongoing in any body politic. Existing scholarship has already covered the first: a dialectic between a ‘social’ and a ‘non-social’ element, which Collingwood identifies in Hobbes. This essay elucidates a second: a dialectic between Liberals and Conservatives, which regulates the ‘percolation’ of liberty and the rate of recruitment into w…
R. G. Collingwood’s Overlapping Ideas of History
Does R. G. Collingwood’s theory that concepts in philosophy are organized as “scales of forms” apply to his own work on the nature of history? Or is there some inconsistency between Collingwood’s work as a philosopher of history and as a theorist of philosophical method? This article surveys existing views among Collingwood specialists concerning the applicability of Collingwood’s “scale of forms” thesis to his own philosophy of history – especia…
The ‘dialectical’ theory of conservatism
Recently, James Alexander has proposed a ‘dialectical definition’ of conservatism which, he believes, goes beyond ‘dispositional’ definitions, such as those proposed by Brennan and Hamlin, and by Martin Beckstein, which are ‘incomplete’.1 Alexander argues that, by focusing on conservative responses to ‘ruptures’ of continuity, his expanded account exposes the ‘fundamentally contradictory’ nature of conservative thought.2 This article offers a cri…
Enoch Powell’s Reading of Nietzsche
Epistemology (7 works) · Philosophy (7 works) · Philosophy (7 works) · Philosophy, History, and Historiography (5 works) · History (4 works) · History (4 works) · Law (4 works) · Law (4 works) · Sociology (4 works) · Political science (3 works)