PHILOSOPHY OF H1STOR Y AND ACTION

PHILOSOPHY OF H1STOR Y AND ACTION

PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES SERIES IN PHILOSOPHY Editors: WI L F RID S ELL A R S, University of Pittsburgh KEITH LEHRER, University of Arizona Board of Consulting Editors: JONATHAN BENNETT, University of British Columbia A LAN G I B BAR 0, University of Pittsburgh ROBER T STALN AKER, Cornell University ROBER T G. TURNBULL, Ohio State Universi(v VOLUME 11

PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY AND ACTION Papers Presented at the First Jerusalem Philosophical Encounter December 1974 Edited by YIRMIAHU YO VEL The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Israel D. REIDEL PUBLISHING COMPANY DORDRECHT : HOLLAND / BOSTON: U.S.A. LONDON:ENGLAND THE MAGNES PRESS, THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY JERUSALEM

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Jerusalem Philosophical Encounter. 1st. 1974. Philosophy of history and action. (Philosophical studies series in philosophy; v.11) I. History - Philosophy - Congresses. I. Yovel. Yirmiahu. II. Title. 016.8.143 1974 901 78-14886 ISBN-13: 978-94-009-9367-9 001: 10.1007/978-94-009-9365-5 e-isbn-13: 978-94-009-9365-5 Published by D. Reidel Publishing Company, P. O. Box 17, Dordrecht, Holland Sold and distributed in the U.S.A., Canada, and Mexico by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Inc. Lincoln Building, 160 Old Derby Street, Hingham, Mass. 02043, U.S.A. Sold and distributed in Israel by The Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem All Rights Reserved Copyright '9 1978 by D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland and copyright holders as specified on appropriate pages within. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1 st edition 1978 No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any informational storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner for The Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem by Sivan Press Ltd. Jerusalem

To N alhan Rolenslreich at Sixty

TABLE OF CONTENTS PREF ACE ACK NOWLEDGMENTS ix xi PART ONE: HISTORY, INTERPRETATION AND ACTION P AU L RIC 0 E U R / History and Hermeneutics 3 Comments by Charles Taylor 21 A BRA HAM K A P LAN / Historical Interpretation 27 Comments by Isaiah Berlin 38 DONALD DAVIDSON/lntending 41 Comments by Stuart Hampshire 61 NAT HAN ROT ENS T REI C H / Historical Actions or Historical Events 69 EDDY M, ZEMACH / Events 85 E L A Z A R WEI N R Y B / Descri ptions of Actions and their Place in History 97 PART TWO: THE PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY FROM KANT TO SARTRE YIRMIAHU YOVEL / Kant and the History of Reason CHARLES TAYLOR/Hegel's Sittlichkeit and the Crisis of Representative Institutions 133 Comments by Shlomo Avineri 155 J ACQ U ES D'H 0 N DT / Marx et les le~ons de I'histoire 159 WE R N E R B EC K E R / Demokratie und die dialektische Theorie der Geschichte 177 115

TABLE OF CONTENTS MEN A C HEM B R INK E R / Transhistoricity and the Impossibility of Aufhebung: Remarks on J.-P. Sartre's Philosophy of History 191 PART THREE: FAREWELL TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY? RA YMOND POLIN / Farewell to the Philosophy of History 201 PANEL DISCUSSION / Is a Philosophy of History Possible? 219 INDEX 241

PREFACE This volume contains the proceedings of the First Jerusalem Philosophical Encounter - started by the Hebrew University Institute of Philosophy (now the S.H. Bergman Centre for Philosophical Studies), which took place on December 28-31, 1974. In recent years the culture-gap that separates philosophers seems slowly - indeed much too slowly - to be narrowing. Although shortcircuits in communication still do happen and mutual disrespect has not vanished, it is becoming unfashionable to demonstrate ignorance of another philosophical tradition or to shrug it off with a supercilious smile. Perhaps dialectically, the insufficiency of any self-centred view that tries to immunize itself to challenges from without starts to disturb it from within. Moreover, as the culture- (and language-) bound nature of many philosophical divergencies is sinking more deeply into consciousness, the irony of an attitude of intolerance to them becomes more apparent. Our aim was to make a modest contribution to this development. We did not, however, mean to confuse genuine differences and problems in communication. Consequently, the more realistic term "encounter" was preferred to the idealizing "dialogue." The Israeli hosts, themselves trained in a variety of philosophical traditions, felt that there is something inbetween real dialogue on the one hand and mutual estrangement on the other, and wished to provide a meeting place for it. As this volume appears two more Jerusalem Philosophical Encounters have taken place: one in 1976 on the philosophy of language (Meaning and Use, also published by D. Reidel Publishing Company and the Magnes Press, the Hebrew University) and the other in 1977 on Spinoza (in collaboration with the Institut International de Philosophie, to be published in their Entretiens by Martinus Nijhofl). This volume is divided into three parts. Part One discusses systematic issues in the philosophy of history and action, representing a number of contemporary viewpoints, such as the hermeneutical, the analytical, and the ix

x PREFACE phenomenological. Part Two represents the subject in historical perspective from Kant to Hegel, Marx, contemporary Marxism and Sartre. Part Three discusses what is living and what is dead in the philosophy of history, starting with Raymond Polin's challenging address and continuing with a panel discussion. I wish to thank all the distinguished colleagues and guests who have delivered papers and participated in the discussion. It gives me particular pleasure to dedicate this volume to Professor Nathan Rotenstreich - teacher, friend, and colleague. Professor Rotenstreich's impressive work - writing, teaching, and translating philosophy - has made him the foremost figure in Israeli philosophical life. His range, depth, and variety can hardly be matched. He is also a socially involved scholar, taking stands on public issues a.,d providing leadership to higher education. in Israel. The philosophy of history is one of Rotenstreich's direct concerns; he has written on it numerous articles and a systematic book (Between Past and Present) and has also dealt specifically with problems in Jewish history. It was, therefore, only natural to insist that his own contribution be included in the meeting. As always, I am deeply indebted to Ms. Eva Shorr (of the S.H. Bergman Centre for Philosophical Studies, the Hebrew University) for her meticulous work and invaluable help in all stages of preparing this work for publication. Thanks are also due to the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the Van Leer Jerusalem Foundation that helped make the Encounter possible. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Yirmiahu Y ovel

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Acknowledgment is gratefully made to the following publishers who have granted permission to use selections from their publications: Glencoe Press for: Abraham Kaplan, In Pursuit of Wisdom, Los Angeles 1977, 68, which is a former version of his "Historical Interpretation." Cambridge University Press for: Charles Taylor, Hegel, Cambridge 1976, pp. 380-386, reprinted here. xi