Michael Oakeshott Research Articles

The School and the State: A problematic relationship in Michael Oakeshott’s philosophy of education

This essay considers a problem with Oakeshott’s theory of civil society, namely, its impotence to support the robust form of education necessary to sustain civil association, which is one of the underlying postulates of his theory of political life. This reflects the significant disconnect between Oakeshott’s political philosophy in On Human Conduct and his philosophy of education. Central to this philosophy is the cultivation of individuality. This character trait is required to enjoy a fulfilling life and to participate in civil association. The primary thesis of this essay is that the state must provide the resources to allow the poor the opportunity to acquire and exercise their individuality. The secondary thesis is that the extent to which such intervention is realistic or appropriate should not be exaggerated.

‘Learning to Be Human’: The Paradigm of Oakeshott’s Epistemology and Islamic Theory of Knowledge

Michael Oakeshott’s epistemology revolves around the concept of Modes of the understanding of the meanings of the world. These meanings had been mediated by our forefathers and had been descended to us through generation to generations. The whole of these meanings is the common capital for all human beings irrespective of terrestrial affiliation or adherence to any theology or association to any race. Without learning the meanings, we are just a bipod specie or Homo Erectus and Homo Sapiens but not ‘Beings Human’. Thus he founded his epistemology on concept of ‘learning to be human’ and he made a difference between a ‘human being’ and ‘being human’. Islamic teachings also support Oakeshott’s ideas regarding, Epistemology, Theory of Knowledge and educational Philosophy.

Examining Normative Sociology and Phronetic Social Science in the Light of Practical Reason

Normative sociology and phronetic social science are research programmes that aim to overcome the dead end of positivism and the obfuscating effects of cryptonormativity, promising renewed social science disciplines that engage normatively with the public. In this article, I aim to deepen our understanding of social science’s (re)turn to normativity by examining how the disciplinary aims of such programmes fare against their conception of practical reason. I consider Tariq Modood’s presentation of the Bristol School of Multiculturalism as a form of normative sociology and begin from its understanding of practical reason after Michael Oakeshott, before specifying Modood’s recommendations, also with reference to other prominent versions of normative sociology. I then show that Bent Flyvbjerg’s phronetic social science, an Aristotle-inspired programme that has received widespread attention, is a particularly useful object of comparison: it bears high proximity to the Bristol School of Multiculturalism by being contextualist, dialogical, and prising public engagement. Most importantly, it too espouses antirationalist arguments via the emphasis it places on the Aristotelian notion of phronesis (practical wisdom). I argue that Oakeshott’s and Aristotle’s insights on the character and growth of practical reason both clarify and problematize the disciplinary aims of normative sociology and phronetic social science. Thus, to develop and defend normative social science, it is necessary to address a host of resulting challenges, most centrally the following: phronesis as an intellectual virtue based on one’s disposition, character, and experience largely eludes disciplinary-level training of the kind that social scientists and political theorists have received, exercise, or provide to students.

내러티브와 시의 목소리

In this paper, ‘narrative’ is a key concept in Jerome Bruner’s later theory, and ‘the voice of poetry’ is one of the major terms in Michael Oakeshott’s educational theory. The purpose of this paper is to extend and refine Bruner’s narrative discourse in the light of Oakeshott’s idea of ‘the voice of poetry.’ Broadly speaking, the voice of poetry helps to reveal the specific content of narrative discourse and the kind of image of humanity to be cultivated through narrative. Oakeshott suggests that ‘conversation’ is the proper form of human intercourse and emphasizes the role of the voice of poetry in making this possible. It follows that the ‘narrative mode of thought’ is also the basis for enabling human activity. For when one works with the narrative mode of thought, one negotiates meaning with others who are concrete beings like oneself. The ‘paradigmatic mode of thought,’ which contrasts with the ‘narrative mode of thought,’ presents an image of humanity as a researcher of a system who aims to complete a logical system. The ‘paradigmatic mode of thought’ cannot operate in a narrative way because the self cannot be included in the logical system it is trying to create. What this research has shown is that the image of humanity we want to foster through narrative education is a human being who can recognize others as concrete selves and accept human universal values through the negotiation of meaning. This means that the content of education must be the humanities, including literature and the arts.

A "Civil Association" Between the European Union and Russia

Contradicting political worldviews of the EU and Russia contribute to their conflictual relations much more than the attention currently given to this facet of the relations. Each of their solidarist worldviews creates an ideological wall severing their communication that is essential for possible peaceful solutions. However, shifting toward a pluralist worldview inspired by conceptual tools of the English School and Michael Oakeshott’s theory of civil association could be an alternative to the current situation of conflict. Building on this theoretical framework, we also attempt to explain the significance of Türkiye’s mediation efforts along the way and present a constructive criticism of today’s norms-based international law.

Rationalism and Relativism: An Essay on John Rawls and Michael Oakeshott

This essay creates an unlikely conversation between two 20th century thinkers: John Rawls and Michael Oakeshott. I say “unlikely” because apart from a few scant remarks in the writing of each the two did not directly engage each other. The essay begins by examining Oakeshott’s explication of “The Rationalist” and her tradition in the history of political thought. Specifically, the essay shows that rationalism in politics involves the belief that reason is an infallible guide to political activity and that the Rationalist seeks certainty and perfection in political affairs. The essay goes on to tease out the rationalistic tendencies in Rawls’ A Theory of Justice, and then it analyzes Oakeshott’s critique of rationalism and applies these criticisms to Rawls. Briefly, Oakeshott marks a distinction between technical and practical knowledge, and he argues that the principles that make up technical manuals like A Theory of Justice are abridgments of and no substitute for the understanding we gain through our practical experience and our participation in a given political tradition. While explaining Oakeshott’s critique of rationalism and Rawls, the essay indicates some of the relativistic proclivities in Oakeshott’s appeal to political practices and traditions, and then it entertains objections to Oakeshott that a Rawlsian might offer. Here Rawls’ commitment to the liberal tradition and the relativity implicit in his explanations of “reflective equilibrium” and “reasonableness” are examined and Rawls’ similarities to Oakeshott are noted. Ultimately, this essay argues that the strength of Rawls’ work lay not in the fact that his principles of justice are established by rational agents in an original position, but in the fact that they are principles that emerge from and cohere with ideas deeply rooted in the Western tradition itself.

КУЛЬТУРА СКАСУВАННЯ: ЕТИЧНИЙ ТА ПОЛІТИЧНИЙ АСПЕКТИ (ДО ПОСТАНОВКИ ПРОБЛЕМИ У КОНТЕКСТІ РОСІЙСЬКО-УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ ВІЙНИ)

Today Ukraine is struggling with the war on its own territory. Russian invasion has provoked many discussions in the cultural sphere. In the end of February 2022 Ukraine's Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko called the world to impose cultural sanctions on the Russian Federation. It means to cancel Russian culture. Cancel culture refers to the popular practice of withdrawing support for (canceling) public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive. Cancel culture is generally discussed as being performed on social media in the form of group shaming. What ethical issues this phenomenon implicates? What does it mean for Ukraine? Cancel culture is a complicated phenomenon in the modern world. We can begin our analysis of the contemporary problem of the culture of cancellation in ethics and politics by analyzing the classic works of Hannah Arendt, Isaiah Berlin, and Michael Oakeshott. Oleksandr Klekovkin, a Ukrainian theater expert, actively promotes the idea of abolishing Russian culture in Ukraine. American lawyer Alan Dershowitz sees a negative aspect of the cancel culture phenomenon. So far, a clear understanding of this phenomenon has not been developed academically. The purpose of the article is an attempt to analyze the phenomenon of "cancellation culture" in ethical and political aspects, actualized in the conditions of the Russian-Ukrainian war in the context of the cancellation of Russian culture in Ukraine. If in a certain society, even under the conditions of a democratic political regime, the idea of at least a hypothetical possibility of solving all problems prevails, it will stop at nothing to achieve such an ideal state. This is the lesson we should have learned after two world wars. However, in practice, in many modern societies, there are again attempts to instill value monism, which manifests itself as "cancel culture". By legitimizing "cancel culture" as a modern trend, political systems significantly limit discursiveness and pluralism within society. After all, it becomes too uncomfortable to express an opinion that contradicts the generally accepted one. This threatens career, social status, and sometimes even safety.

Authority on the Border of Work and Play

The distinction between work and play is a defining feature of the modern world. But the border between them has been a site of major political contestation, giving rise to new forms of authority. I turn to the work of Michael Oakeshott to examine the distinction between work and play and how it relates to the idea of authority. I argue that reading Oakeshott on work, play, conduct, and authority can give us important insights into key questions of democratic theory at a time when socio-economic and technological changes are once again transforming the border of work and play.

From Georges Sorel to Peter Costello: Peter Coleman and the Making of Australian Liberal Conservatism

Peter Coleman was the most significant intellectual advocate of a liberal‐conservative politics in Australia from the mid‐twentieth century well into the early twenty‐first century. His worldview drew upon John Anderson, Michael Oakeshott, and Georges Sorel rather than Edmund Burke or John Stuart Mill. Coleman's work demonstrates that Australian liberal‐conservatism is not a coalition but a fusion in which liberal and conservative concepts were translated into a programme for political action. Coleman argued that neoconservatism, in particular the examples of Irving Kristol and Edward Shils, best represented this fusion, but Coleman was also drawn to the traditionalist conservatism of James McAuley. This article applies a morphological approach, as pioneered by Michael Freeden, to the analysis of Coleman's ideological position and focuses on his understandings of liberty, order, and progress. It not only draws upon Coleman's Masters' dissertation upon Sorel, his published writings, parliamentary speeches, but also considers his performance as a government minister and Liberal Party leader in New South Wales and his influence upon Peter Costello.

Anti-individual morality in the international human rights system

This article argues that modern human rights practice is largely imbued with an understanding of morality which is properly described as ‘anti-individual’ in the sense in which Michael Oakeshott used that phrase. In summary, this means that the contemporary human rights movement is informed by a vision of morality as something that is to be imposed on populations from above for their own good, rather than something that inheres within each individual and is contingent on free choice. This gives effect to a fundamentally managerial approach, meaning that international human rights law now largely manifests itself in obligations imposed on States to coordinate societies towards benevolent ends. This undoubtedly derives from good motives, but it means that the human rights movement for the most part buttresses an aggrandisement of the State that will happen regardless. This places it on the side of a creeping paternalistic ‘soft despotism’ – a development that is to be regretted.

Wat van plekke, rolle en ampte? Want die reg gaan oor meer as individuele regte What about places, roles and offices? Because the law is about more than individual rights

Wat van plekke, rolle en ampte? Want die reg gaan oor meer as individuele regte What about places, roles and offices? Because the law is about more than individual rights

The thought of (Edmund Burke, Alexis de Tocqueville and Michael Oakeshott) as a model – an analytical comparative study

Civil society carries different and multifaceted meanings and also changes according to historical progress and different philosophical views, the political meaning of the concept is the political development of societies and institutions and relations. Opinions are varying on the meaning of different civil society; the liberal mind emphasizes freedom and individuality in the development of civil society for the sake of individual well-being. But as the worldview of the liberal mind changes according to the differences in the direction of liberalism, conservative liberal intellectual thinkers believe in civil development of communities towards welfare by the condition of preserving civil values and norms, Liberal thinkers, who are governors of how and how to preserve those values and norms, are also different. (Edmund Burke) believes in the preservation of the natural aristocracy, (Alexis de Tocqueville) sees individualism as the basis of democracy in the spirit of the growth of civil society, and (Michael Oakeshott) believes that active liberal individual on the basis of adherence to behavior for the sake of harmony between law and behavior, shortening of the law interference, and daily individual activities can be the main factors of civil society which forgiveness and social harmony have been guaranteed.

ڕوانگەى هزرمەندانى لیبرال-پارێزگار بۆ کۆمەڵگەى مەدەنى: هزری (ئیدمۆند بێرک، ئەلێکسی دى تۆکڤێل، مایکل ئەواکشۆت) بەنمونە (توێژینەوەیەکى شیکارى ـ بەراوردکارییە)

Civil society carries different and multifaceted meanings and also changes according to historical progress and different philosophical views, the political meaning of the concept is the political development of societies and institutions and relations. Opinions are varying on the meaning of different civil society; the liberal mind emphasizes freedom and individuality in the development of civil society for the sake of individual well-being. But as the worldview of the liberal mind changes according to the differences in the direction of liberalism, conservative liberal intellectual thinkers believe in civil development of communities towards welfare by the condition of preserving civil values and norms, Liberal thinkers, who are governors of how and how to preserve those values and norms, are also different. (Edmund Burke) believes in the preservation of the natural aristocracy, (Alexis de Tocqueville) sees individualism as the basis of democracy in the spirit of the growth of civil society, and (Michael Oakeshott) believes that active liberal individual on the basis of adherence to behavior for the sake of harmony between law and behavior, shortening of the law interference, and daily individual activities can be the main factors of civil society which forgiveness and social harmony have been guaranteed.

The Claims of Politics on the Arts? Oakeshott andScrutinyin the 1930s

AbstractIn 1939, under pressure to take a more definitive political position, the editors of the literary journal Scrutiny, under the leadership of F. R. Leavis, convened a symposium titled “The Claims of Politics,” on the question of whether political advocacy had a place in a journal dedicated to literature and the arts. This remains a salient question to the present day. This paper considers the circumstances that led to the symposium and specifically considers the contribution of conservative political philosopher Michael Oakeshott and his position that the introduction of politics into the arts would serve neither well.

El problema del seguimiento de reglas en Michael Oakeshott

The role of rules in our normative practices constitutes a relevant philosophical problema, mainly associated with Wittgenstein’s philosophy, but to which Michael Oakeshott has also attempted to answer. Not surprisingly, some scholars have found parallels between their conceptions of human practices and rule-following. Through an exegesis of the notion and uses of the rule in Oakeshott's works, this article aims to clarify the link between rule-following and normative authorization. In this way, it will be possible to to decide the originality and specificity of Oakeshott’s contribution and settle the question of the differences with the Wittgensteinian problematization of rule-following.

A critical examination about the competence-based education by Michael Oakeshott’s On Human Conduct

A critical examination about the competence-based education by Michael Oakeshott’s On Human Conduct

Uma perspectiva racionalista da influência do Estado na pandemia

A compreensão deste texto ocorre a partir de duas diferentes perspectivas: (1) psicológica, entendendo o conceito de racionalismo como a superioridade da razão sobre outras áreas da vida humana; (2) política, em que a ideia de racionalismo é compreendida a partir, principalmente, de pressupostos do filósofo inglês Michael Oakeshott.

The Concept of the Constitution in the Jurisprudence of Michael Oakeshott

The Concept of the Constitution in the Jurisprudence of Michael Oakeshott

Contextualist political theory about multiculturalism in a post-multiculturalist context

Many theorists of multiculturalism have proposed contextualism as an approach particularly suited for theorizing multiculturalism. The so-called Bristol School of Multiculturalism (BSM) is characterized by a ‘bottom up’ and claims-based approach eschewing appeal to abstract political principles. Tariq Modood has articulated this contextualist approach as a version of Michael Oakeshott’s idea of politics as ‘the pursuit of intimations’. The question is how such an approach fares when applied to the specific political and social context characteristic of, especially European, political reality of the last 10–15 years. Political opposition to multiculturalism at ideological and rhetorical levels has characterized this context. At the legal level, many of the laws and rules in place actually protecting minority groups have furthermore not had the form of group rights or policies of recognition proposed by multiculturalist theories. The question therefore arises whether a contextualist approach that takes its point of departure in the facts of such a context can deliver a justification of a recognizable multiculturalist political theory. This is a version of the general problem of critical distance facing contextualism. Modood’s version of the approach appeals to the internal diversity of traditions to answer this problem. However, this leads to additional questions about the nature of the theory and the way in which it is action-guiding. Consideration of these questions qualifies the understanding of in which sense the BSM approach is contextual.

Polityczność w praktyce orzeczniczej — w rozmowach o państwie prawa z Ewą Łętowską, Andrzejem Zollem, Andrzejem Wróblem

W prezentowanym artykule starałem się wykazać obecność tematyki polityczności w pol-skiej debacie o praktyce orzeczniczej. Realizując ten cel, najpierw przedmiotem uwagi czynię roz-mowy z Ewą Łętowską, Andrzejem Zollem i Andrzejem Wróblem, które przeprowadził Krzysztof Sobczak. Następnie odpowiadam na pytanie, jak rozumiana polityczność wyłania się z tych rozmów. Wypełniając to zadanie, odwołuję się do słownika pojęć zaproponowanego przez Michaela Oakeshotta.