Theories and Narratives: Reflections on the Philosophy of History

by Alex Callinicos

At a time when philosophy of history is decidedly out of fashion, Theories and Narratives explores the relationship between historical writing and theoretical understanding and seeks to establish the legitimate scope of large-scale theories to grasp historical processes as a whole.
Pursuing this objective, Alex Callinicos critically confronts a number of leading attempts to reconceptualize the meaning of history, including Francis Fukuyama’s rehabilitation of Hegel’s philosophy of history and the postmodernist efforts of Hayden White and others to deny the existence of a past independent of our representations of it. In these cases philosophical arguments are pursued in tandem with discussions of historical interpretations or, respectively, Stalinism and the Holocaust. Leading theories of history—Marx’s and Weber’s—are then examined in the context of recent work by writers such as Michael Mann, W. G. Runciman, and Robert Brenner
Finally, the politics of historical theory is explored in a discussion of Marxism’s claims to be a universal theory of human progress. Contradicting current fashion, Callinicos rebuts the claims made by many postmodernists that Marxism is inherently Eurocentric in both its conceptual structures and its political practice. Marx’s project of human emancipation, he concludes, still define our political horizons.
Theories and Narratives will interest all readers for whom the role of history in the understanding of contemporary civilizations is an essential issue.

Genres: Philosophy, History

264 pages, Hardcover

Published July 12, 1995

About the author

Alexander Theodore Callinicos, a descendant through his mother of Lord Acton, is a political theorist and Director of the Centre for European Studies at King's College London. He holds both a BA and a DPhil from Oxford University.

Reviews

[Peter Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting review of approaches to the writing of history. Callinicos starts by critiquing the postmodern turn and the impact of language and narrative on the writing of history. He then unpicks the marxist and weberian 'grand narratives' which are broadly disparaged by postmodernism. Coming from a generally marxist perspective this makes for an interesting overview (and provides a helpful short summary of postmodernism as it influences the writing of history generally). However the bridge between the different sections (the criticism of postmodernism to the criticism of weberian approaches, and the summary of a marxist theory of history) could be smoother. It feels for example that more could be said to critique postmodern history from a marxist perspective. Still, an interesting read and a useful follow up to any reading on postmodern history, or to traditional marxist theories of history (including GA Cohen's Karl Marx's Theory of History for example).