Improbable as this sounds, Oakeshott was the subject of MI5 surveillance. The source of this nugget is the book Philby: The Spy who Betrayed a Generation by Bruce Page, David Leitch and Phillip Knightley (Introduction by John le Carré), Penguin, 1969. Here is the excerpt: It may be that the failure on the part of the…
by John Jascoll. The Background When I read in last summer’s LSE Magazine that an association had been formed to honour Michael Oakeshott it made me pause to reflect on my connection with the man. Unlike most of the people involved with the conference to commemorate him, I am far removed from the world of…
Some years ago I commissioned Noël O’Sullivan to contribute to the program for inaugural conference of Michael Oakeshott Association in 2001 which was held at the LSE. This is his beautifully crafted essay and is a companion piece to Ken Minogue’s portrait. ================================= When Leslie Marsh asked me to talk about the apparently simple subject, ‘Why…
In light of the level of interest shown in the Oakeshott audio that I recently posted, I thought this beautifully crafted personal portrait by one of the people who knew him longest, might act as a nice complement to further flesh out Oakeshott the man. It’s by Ken Minogue, who was for many years, Oakeshott’s colleague and friend.…
Ignoratio elenchi is a classic argument-based fallacy. It is a fallacy to be found in traditional logic: it’s important to note that as a fallacy it doesn’t necessarily entail an invalid argument. Ignoratio elenchi literally means “ignorance of refutation” and is sometimes known as the “fallacy of irrelevance” or the “fallacy of missing the point”.…
Friedrich Hayek must rate as one the greatest intellects of the twentieth century. I take the view that his achievement is on a par with his cousin – Wittgenstein. Most people know Hayek for his political philosophy, philosophy of economics, philosophy of social science and philosophical jurisprudence. The distinctive and unifying thread across all Hayek’s thought was…
I still have a few copies of a booklet I put together (with very high production values) but more importantly containing some beautifully written, affectionate and insightful essays. Copies are available to anyone who is interested, the only provisor being that you cover the cost of the postage. If you are interested, drop me a line. ——————————— Excerpt:…
Ryle Oakeshott I presented this paper at the third international Michael Oakeshott Association conference. ——————————————- Abstract: Politics make a call upon knowledge. Consequently, it is not irrelevant to inquire into the kind of knowledge which is involved . . . (Rationalism in politics, p. 45) Gilbert Ryle’s ‘Knowing How/Knowing That’ distinction gave crisp articulation to a…
Review originally published in Political Studies Review and available on Podoksik’s website.
“Political Experience” A copy is available direct from publisher’s website.
manwithoutqualities 