However long Ken Minogue has been writing about rationalism he always has a knack of bringing something new and elegant to the topic. Oakeshott was passionate about ideas, and in casual conversation he did not stint on expressing his disdain for folly, but his philosophical instincts were always to discover some element of rationality in…
Here are the details for MOA ’13 ExperienceMichael OakeshottmodernityPolitical philosophyrationalismThomas Hobbes
Here are more extracts from Noel Malcolm’s essay for the Oakeshott Companion: Malcolm’s recent work has been listed as one of The Economist books of the year. Oakeshott’s essay on “Rationalism in Politics” does make some attempt to locate the birth of rationalism historically. He observes that “the moment when it shows itself unmistakably” is in…
Here is a draft of a co-authored entry for Real World Decision Making: An Encyclopedia of Behavioral Economics. Morris Altman, editor. Santa Barbara: Praeger. Behavioral economicsBounded Rationalitycognitive closuredistributed cognitiondistributed knowledgeExternalismFrederick Winslow TaylorHerbert SimonLuther GulickLyndall Urwickrationalismrationalitysatisficingsituated cognitionStigmergyTuring
Snippets from Elizabeth Corey’s essay: Perhaps what is most notable about the Tower of Babel myth, in both of Oakeshott’s essays, is the perfectionism inherent in the story. Whether one wants to contribute to a great and noble cause or to change the world through human action, pride and overestimation lie at the center of…
Bob Grant’s highly distinctive essay on Oakeshott’s private life. In what follows I shall refer to Michael Oakeshott by his first name, as I also shall to those connected with him. This is partly to avoid the confusion of shared surnames, though I did actually come myself to address him by his first name. My…
Here is the opening to Elizabeth Corey’s essay for the Companion. I have often thought that one of the best introductions to the philosophy of Michael Oakeshott is a children’s book by Arnold Lobel. Grasshopper on the Road describes the journey of a remarkably even-tempered grasshopper who meets various other insects on his way down…
Here is a rather obscure and confused invocation of stigmergy. Our habits, the way we present ourselves to others and the persona we have created, our social context – all these things constrain us, limit our capacity for change, and drag the “old” us into any attempt to start afresh. Kol Nidre annuls those vows…
Here is a trailer from possibly the greatest living Hobbes scholar – Noel Malcolm – who we were lucky enough to nab for our Companion. Even those who know only a little about Michael Oakeshott know that he had a strong and abiding interest in the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes. His edition of Leviathan (1946)…
Here is Ken Minogue’s intro paragraph to his essay in the Companion to Michael Oakeshott (I recently had dinner with Ken and am pleased to report that he is doing quite well). Michael Oakeshott is perhaps best known as the foe of a political vice called “rationalism,” and it is a vice because, in believing…
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