Frederick C. Beiser - The German Historicist Tradition [2012] [A]

This is the first full study in English of the German historicist tradition. Frederick C. Beiser surveys the major German thinkers on history from the middle of the eighteenth century until the early twentieth century, providing an introduction to each thinker and the main issues in interpreting and appraising his thought. The volume offers new interpretations of well-known philosophers such as Johann Gottfried Herder and Max Weber, and introduces others who are scarcely known at all, including J. A. Chladenius, Justus Moser, Heinrich Rickert, and Emil Lask. Beyond an exploration of the historical and intellectual context of each thinker, Beiser illuminates the sources and reasons for the movement of German historicism--one of the great revolutions in modern Western thought, and the source of our historical understanding of the human world.

Review
This is an excellent and fascinating book. Beiser brings to bear a deep knowledge of both primary and secondary sources, a sharp eye for important philosophical issues, and an engaging writing style. Michael N. Forster, Mind this book exhibits the stylistic virtues that readers have come to expect from Beisers work, above all the virtue of clarity of exposition. Corey McCall, Philosophy in Review

About the Author
Frederick C. Beiser studied for his BA and DPhil at Oxford. He has taught at seven universities during his career--Penn, Wisconsin, Colorado, Indiana, Yale, Harvard and Syracuse--and has researched for many years in Germany, where he was a recipient of Thyssen and Humboldt fellowships.