The composition of R. G. Collingwood's The New Leviathan

Connelly, James; Johnson, Peter

Abstract

Collingwood's The New Leviathan is a difficult text. It comprises philosophy, political theory, political opinion and history in what is sometimes an uneasy amalgam. Despite its being the culmination of thirty years of work in ethics and political theory, the final text was clearly affected by the adverse circumstances under which it was written, these largely being Collingwood's illness which increasingly affected his ability to work as the writing of The New Leviathan progressed. This paper seeks to disentangle the composition of the book thereby shedding light on its distinctive character as the last substantial piece of philosophical work published in Collingwood's lifetime.

Citation

Connelly, J., & Johnson, P. (2019). The composition of R. G. Collingwood's The New Leviathan. British Journal for the History of Philosophy, 27(1), 114-133. https://doi.org/10.1080/09608788.2018.1494540

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 26, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Aug 2, 2018
• Publication Date: Jan 2, 2019
• Deposit Date: Feb 10, 2021
• Journal: British Journal for the History of Philosophy
• Print ISSN: 0960-8788
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 114-133
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09608788.2018.1494540
• Keywords: Collingwood; New Leviathan; Political theory; Ethics; History
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3566738
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09608788.2018.1494540?journalCode=rbjh20