“The change in the modern world which consisted in the development of man's consciousness of himself may be said to begin with Descartes, who first established man's position as a being who can not only think, but think about his own thinking, who can observe himself in the act of observing, so that man is simultaneously the subject and the object of thought and observation. But the development did not become fully explicit till the latter part of the eighteenth century, when Rousseau opened up new depths of human self-understanding and self-consciousness, and gave man a new outlook on the world of nature and on traditional civilization.”
Carr suggests that history is as significant for man's expectations for his future as for his understanding of his past. In this context, Professor Carr has returned the philosophy of history to the historians, vice from the philosophers.
Author: Edward Halley Carr
Title: What is History?
Edition: First American Edition, first printing
Published: New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1962
Physical Description: Hardcover; Octavo; 209p
Condition: Fair to good condition dust jacket with edge wear, chipping, small tape repairs, rubbing to surfaces, and toning—in new protector. Boards and spine very clean with mild edge wear, bumping to corners, and crushing at spine ends. Binding sturdy and square. Pages toned. Owner’s name on front free end-paper. Taped-in vintage NY Times book review on back free end-paper. A few instances of pencil markings in text-block.
Comments: Handsome copy
