The Other Bishop Berkeley: An Exercise in Reenchantment

239 Pages·2007·0.31 MB·English

by  Costica Bradatan

THE OTHER BISHOP BERKELEY
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THE OTHER BISHOP BERKELEY
An Exercise in Reenchantment
(cid:2)
Costica Bradatan
FordhamUniversityPress
ewNorkY (cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:4)
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To
Cristina and Anastasia
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Introduction (cid:7)
of the past cannot, and should not, be pursued for the past(cid:146)s sake, but for
satisfying our own current intellectual needs and interests. Since the past is
already dead, is not anymore, we should not be vainly concerned with
(cid:145)(cid:145)howitreallywas,(cid:146)(cid:146)butweshouldratherlookforwardandpursuehistorical
researchonlyinsofarasindoingsowegainsomethingwecanuseforbetter
dealing with the present or the future. An important consequence of this
view isthat, if the resultsof aparticular historicalresearch cannotbe trans-
latedintosomethinginterestingforus,thenwedonotinprinciplehaveany
reason to pursue that research .further In other words, there is no such a
thing as gratuitous historical research. What this position upholds has been
expressed,,analogicallyasfollows:
Theanthropologistisnotdoinghisjobifhemerelyofferstoteachushow
tobickerwithhisfavouritetribe,howtobeinitiatedintotheirrituals,etc.
Whatwewanttobetoldiswhetherthattribehasanythinginterestingto
tellus(cid:151)interestingby our lights,answeringto our concerns,informative
aboutwhat we knowtoexist.Anyanthropologistwhorejectedthisassign-
mentonthegroundsthat(cid:30)lteringandparaphrasewoulddistortandbetray
theintegrityofthetribe(cid:146)sculturewouldnolongerbeananthropologist,but
asortofoccultist.eHis,afterall,workingfor us ,notfor them .,orty(RSch-
neewind,andSkinner (cid:5)(cid:7)(cid:9)(cid:11) : (cid:4) (cid:150) (cid:8) )
As such, history is seen as the business of the present, whose pursuit must
alwaysresult ina betterdealing withthe present(cid:151)andfuture(cid:151)statesof af-
fairs. Historical research is, of course, to be encouraged because it supplies
us with excellent means through which we can be more successful in our
various undertakings. Someone who has (some) knowledge of the past is
certainlyinabetterpositiontounderstandwhatisgoingon,andcan,ifnot
foresee the future, at least say why certain future developments are more
likely than others. Then, thanks to our knowledge of the past, we are able
toarticulateourviewsonvarioussubjects.betterForexample,wecustom-
arilyappealtohistoricalargumentsforsupportingourcurrentpositionsand
undermining our rivals(cid:146) positions. Someone with historical knowledge has
a broader perspective and can give relevant examples from the past; such a
person can always (cid:30)nd illustrations in support of the various opinions she
mighthave.
Andthisisthecasewitheverydisciplinethathasknownhistoricaldevel-
opments.Ifoneknowssuf(cid:30)cientlywellthe(cid:145)(cid:145)historicalbackground(cid:146)(cid:146)against
which a certain,theoryor,viewor argument, appeared, then one is much
better prepared to defend, or challenge, it than those who do not possess
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