The Sceptical Idealist: Michael Oakeshott as a Critic of the Enlightenment (Idealists)

This is the first book-length study to provide a structured interpretation of the significance of Michael Oakeshott's critique of the Enlightenment. By seeing the thinker as a 'sceptical idealist posing a serious challenge to the intellectual positions informed by the Enlightenment, this book attempts to resolve some of the issues debated by Oakeshott scholars. The author argues that Oakeshotts famous critique of philosophisme and Rationalism in fact expresses a sense of the crisis of philosophical modernity. Moreover, notwithstanding some recent interpretations, throughout his intellectual career Oakeshott has never altered his analysis of these two philosophy as the persistent re-establishment of completeness by transcending abstractness, and the modes of experience as self-consistent worlds of discourse. To apply this philosophy in his moral and political writings, Oakeshott has redressed an imbalance in favour of the Enlightenment ethical position the sovereignty of technique, demonstrative moral truth, the politics of faith and enterprise association by revitalising the importance of traditional knowledge, conversation, intimation, the politics of scepticism and civil association. Oakeshott is neither a doctrinal liberal nor a dogmatic conservative, but a philosophical sceptic. Moreover, Oakeshotts contribution to history not only lies in his effort to transcend the Enlightenment historiographical position by separating the historical from the naturalised conception of History on which so-called scientific history rests but also in his idealistic solution for the temporal dilemma and the epistemic tension in history that have long bothered philosophers. Ch. I. Introduction: A Unique Voice -- I.1. Oakeshott On Politics, History And Philosophy -- I.2. The Structure Of Chapters -- Ch. Ii. The Enlightenment Positions -- Ii.1. Introduction: Philosophy Par Excellence -- Ii.2. Philosophical Modernity -- Ii.3. Liberal Ethics -- Ii.4. Positivist Historiography -- Ch. Iii. Philosophy And Modes Of Experience -- Iii.1. Introduction: Some Interpretative Problems -- Iii.2. The Aim And Background Of The Work -- Iii.3. Experience And Modality -- Iii.4. The Nature Of Philosophy -- Iii.5. The Mode Of Practice -- Ch. Iv. A Sceptical Philosophy Of Politics -- Iv.1. Introduction: From Truth To Rationality -- Iv.2. Rationalism As The Enlightenment Project -- Iv.3. Transcending Rationalism In Philosophy -- Iv.4. Reconciling Rationalism In Politics -- Iv.5. On Human Conduct -- Ch. V. An Idealistic Defense Of History -- V.1. Introduction: Beyond Positivism And Historicism -- V.2. Mind, Time And Historical Experience -- V.3. The Logic Of History -- V.4. The Autonomy Of History -- V.5. Non-historicist Idealism -- Ch. Vi. Conclusion. Roy Tseng. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [277]-289) And Indexes. The purpose of this book is to interpret the works of Michael J. Oakeshott (1901-1990, the Professor of Political Science at the LSE, 1951-1969) as a substantial critic of the Enlightenment project by concentrating on his philosophy of politics and history.