Is Roger Scruton a Christian Platonist?

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article situates Roger Scruton in the tradition of Christian Platonism. It begins by revisiting Scruton’s reluctance to pursue theological speculation as it has been traditionally practised in the Platonising tradition of Christian metaphysics, and identifies potential misunderstandings of this tradition as Scruton represents it, as well as points of common ground. Drawing on the scholarship of Lloyd Gerson, this article goes on to argue that Scruton satisfies the basic philosophical criteria that allow a philosopher to be classified as a Platonist, and then shows how his thought can be located within a Platonising hermeneutical tradition. Scruton re-imagines a number of Christian Platonic themes in the post-Kantian, phenomenological, and existential territory he inhabits. These themes include: imaginative contemplation, transcendence, the sacred, the real presence, meditation on death (meditatio mortis), love, and becoming like God (Gottwerdung). The article concludes with some reflections about why it matters that Scruton’s thought should be included in the tradition of Christian Platonism i.e. why it should matter to his readers, to the potential logical unfolding of his own philosophical position, and to his standing as one of the most powerful spiritual writers of our time.