R. G. Collingwood and the Second World War : facing barbarism

This book is volume one of a two-part series. Taken together, the two volumes of A Philosopher at War examine the political thought of the philosopher and archaeologist, R.G. Collingwood, against the background of the First and Second World Wars. Collingwood served in Admiralty Intelligence during the First World War and although he was not physically robust enough to play an active role in the Second World War, he was swift to condemn the policies of appeasement which he thought largely responsible for bringing it about. The author uses a blend of political philosophy, history and discussion of political policy to uncover what Collingwood says about the First World War, the Peace Treaty which followed it, and the crises which led to the Second World War in 1939, together with the response he mustered to it before his death in 1943. The aim is to reveal the kind of liberalism he valued and explain why he valued it. By 1940 Collingwood came to see that a liberalism separated from Christianity would be unable to meet the combined evils of Fascism and Nazism. How Collingwood arrived at this position, and how viable he finally considered it, is the story told in these volumes. R.G Collingwood's prolific works have shaped the debate about the nature of civilisation and its status as an ideal governing art, morality and social and political existence. As one of the few philosophers to subject civilisation and barbarism to close analysis, R.G Collingwood was acutely aware of the interrelationship between philosophy and history. In Peter Johnson's highly original work, R.G Collingwood and the Second World War: Facing Barbarism, Johnson combines historical, biographical and philosophical discussion in order to illuminate Collingwood's thinking and create the first in-depth analysis of R.G Collingwood's responses to the Second World War. Peter Johnson examines how R.G Collingwood's responses to the war developed from his early rejection of appeasement as a policy for dealing with Hitler's Germany, through his view of Britain's prosecution of the war once the battle with Nazism had been joined, and finally to his picture of a future liberal society in which civility is its overriding ideal. "As one of the few philosophers to subject civilisation and barbarism to close analysis, Collingwood was acutely aware of the interrelationship between philosophy and history. This book combines historical, biographical and philosophical discussion in order to illuminate Collingwood's thinking and create the first in-depth analysis of Collingwood's responses to the Second World War"-- Provided by publisher Appeasement, war and the enemy within -- One cheer for Marx -- A philosopher at Delphi -- Talking with Yahoos -- Why are we at war? -- Fighting back -- The New Leviathan and the impact of events -- The New Leviathan in 1940 -- Two cheers for Vansittartism -- Civility and the claims of justice -- Civility and economic licentiousness