 The inside/outside distinction that Collingwood often invokes to explicate the differences between the subject matters of history and science is a highly metaphorical way of defending a commitment to explanatory pluralism and the irreducibility of historical to scientific explanations. This metaphor has unfortunately sometimes been read literally, leading to Collingwood being unfairly attacked for defending the view that the subject matter of history is an internal, unobservable psychological process and for putting forward an equally implausible method for accessing it: re-enactment.