Military History And Political Philosophy

It occurred to me tonight that military history might be the best way to approach political philosophy.

If I take Collingwood seriously when he says that philosophical problems are historical problems, then the problems of political philosophy are really problems of the history of politics and war.

If I take Collingwood seriously when he says that the best way to respond to his work is not to write about him, but to write about the problems he poses, then I must learn to write about those problems, and not just him.

Because I have done quite a lot of writing about him. I have taken him very seriously and have definitely considered him a potential dissertation topic.

But I think I need to follow both of the tips I mentioned.

I don't need to write about him. I need to write about the questions he raises.

I need to write about the problems of political philosophy from the perspective of social, political, and military history.

I think this is what makes MacIntyre so powerful. He is doing something clearly Collingwoodian, and admits it, be he hardly talks about Collingwood.

He writes his own history.