Georg Gangl "What is Speculative Philosophy of History and What Is It Good For?"

On May 6, the Centre's Georg Gangl gave the talk "What is Speculative Philosophy of History and What Is It Good For?" at KU Leuven in Belgium. This is the recording of the talk and the discussion.
Abstract
Speculative philosophy of history is a central term in Anglophone philosophy of history, but only negatively and polemically, as what the field supposedly is not. The distinction goes back to at least the 1940s, when the modern field of philosophy of history constituted itself as an analytic enterprise through the works of C. G. Hempel and William Walsh, though the whole backstory of the analytic/continental divide also reverberates in the background.
In my talk, I will argue that the distinction itself is outdated from the standpoint of modern (post-positivist) philosophy of historiography-speculative is too polemical and imprecise a term and modern philosophy of historiography does much more than logically analyse language and concepts. However, in one aspect the criticism that the analytic philosophers of history formulated towards their “speculative” counterparts stands firm: There is no purely philosophical (introspective, a-priori, or dialectical) knowledge of the past. Properly conceived, this means the concerns that animated many “speculative” philosophers of history become questions about social ontology and the justification of grand scope social theories, and with that, issues that should be scrutinized through the philosophical examination of historiography and the social sciences.
While the notion of speculative philosophy of history is of no use in modern theoretical discussions, it is an analytically useful category for understanding the relations to the past maintained outside historiography. The talk will therefore close with some reflections on the potential need for speculative philosophies of history malgré tout.
• Georg's researcher page: www.oulu.fi/en/researchers/ge...
• Georg's Twitter: / ganglgeorg
• Homepage: www.oulu.fi/en/university/fac...
• Twitter: / cpshoulu
• Facebook: / cpshoulu
• Blog: www.oulu.fi/en/blogs/philosop...
• Master’s programme History Culture and Philosophy: www.oulu.fi/centreforphilosop...
• Visiting scholars programme: www.oulu.fi/en/university/fac...
Moderation: Vinsent Nollet (KU Leuven)