Danto’s Dialectic

Citation

Haddock A (2008) Danto’s Dialectic. Philosophia, 36 (4), pp. 483-493. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11406-008-9157-1

Abstract
Arthur C. Danto’s Analytical Philosophy of History has a Kantian ambition: to state the conditions that make historical knowledge possible and to show “the unhappy destiny” that attends attempts to extend modes of representation beyond these conditions. Even though Danto’s book fails to achieve this ambition, it succeeds in making a number of important—if neglected—suggestions in the course of its attempt. One concerns the significance of the progressive tense for our thinking about human agency. Another concerns the way agency can impact negatively on the possibility of foreknowledge.

Keywords
Arthur C. Danto; Philosophy of history; Critical philosophy; Transcendental Dialectic; Historical knowledge; Narrative sentences; Ideal Chronicle; Action; Progressive tense; Historical foreknowledge; Danto, Arthur Coleman, 1924-; Act (Philosophy); Knowledge, Theory of.; Analysis (Philosophy)

Journal
Philosophia: Volume 36, Issue 4

• Danto's Dialectic - Final.pdf