Michael Oakenshott Flashcards
Conservatism
when was he alive?
1901-90
most famous work?
‘On Being Conservative’ (1962)
what happened in his book?
interpretation of how conservatives regarded human imperfection
remembered for its argument a ‘philosophy of imperfection’ doesn’t have to be a ‘philosophy of pessimism’
view of human nature?
most humans were ‘fallible but not terrible’, ‘imperfect but not immoral’
incapable of ‘perfect’ societies, but could secure ‘both pleasure and improvement through the humdrum business of everyday life’
how did he try to make conservatism seem?
more optimistic than liberalism/socialism
claimed cons. have a greater appreciation of preexisting pleasures
what did ideologies with clear views of how society ‘should’ be cause?
impatience
intolerance
frustration
quote on what cons. prefer
‘prefer the familiar to the unknown, the actual to the possible, the convenient to the perfect…present laughter to utopian bliss’
what was he dismissive of?
‘normative’ politics with its ‘simplistic visions that overlook the complexity of reality’
what did he affirm?
merits of empirical + pragmatic approach to politics + life- ‘the art of the possible’
how did he argue wisdom was achieved?
through experience and trial and error
other famous work?
‘The Politics of Faith & the Politics of Scepticim’
argued state exited to ‘prevent the bad rather than create the good’
what was his ‘nautical metaphor’
‘we all sail a boundless sea, with no appointed destination’
the job of the govt. was to: keep ‘the ship afloat…using experience to negotiate every storm…and not fixating on a port that may not exist’
what do his critics say?
his philosophy is too fatalistic and underestimates our ability to shape circumstances
Nozick said his mentality was ‘lazy’ + allowed socialist ideas to advance unchallenged after 1945