Roger Scruton: The Philosopher on Dover Beach: An Intellectual Biography

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An intriguing portrait of Roger Scruton and his philosophy.

Roger Scruton was one of the outstanding British philosophers of the post-war years. Why then was he at best ignored and at worst reviled Part of the reason was that he was an unapologetic conservative in the tradition of Edmund Burke. That conservative instinct was sharpened during the Paris riots of 1968. From that point on Scruton set himself the task of stridently opposing what he termed the culture of repudiation'. In so doing he targeted liberals in the tradition of Russell and Mill, existentialists like Sartre and post modernists in the fashion of Foucault.

Here is a brilliant description of Scruton's life and work and a careful analysis of his central ideas. Scruton defended an Hegelian and Burkean view of human nature, one founded on allegiance to the State as the guarantor of tangible freedom. He thus opposed any and all variations of the social contract theory, liberal or existential individualism or philosophical theories of the authentic' self in isolation from its kind. His conservative notion of the nation state was used to reflect upon and criticise the European Union, the United Nations and the idea that the Middle East can be reformed along Western democratic lines.

Scruton, argues Mark Dooley, was the one British intellectual who courageously rowed against the tide of liberal conviction and arrived at political conclusions the truth of which are becoming more and more obvious. This book argues conclusively that Roger Scruton was a prophet for our times.

Reviews

'In this short, lucid study of Scruton's thought ... [Mark Dooley] mounts a powerful defence of an important thinker. Dooley covers all aspects of Scruton's thought, from sex and art to religion, politics and the defence of the nation.' - Alex Moffatt, Irish Mail on Sunday
'Dooley's book aims to show that Scruton's ideas are proving more and more true to our current times. This is an important and challenging re-appraisal of an important philosopher.' - Stav Sherez, Catholic Herald
'Sets out eloquently Roger [Scruton's] positions on politics and art - and explains why there was no one I ever commissioned to write whose articles provoked more rage'- Sir Peter Stothard, Editor, Times Literary Supplement
'Beautifully written, clear, concise, restrained, Roger Scruton: The Philosopher on Dover Beach is a masterpiece of concise exposition, a model of clarification and, above all, a pleasure to read. For anyone who wants a comprehensive overview of Scruton's work, Dooley's book is indispensable. There is no other work of this kind on the market. Short of reading all of Scruton's writings yourself, there can be no better way to gain a clear understanding of this most significant of contemporary philosophers.' - Yearbook of the Irish Philosophical Society
'Dooley makes a strong case for taking [Scruton] seriously and puts to rest the absurd and, thankfully, now less fashionable view that he is the 'unthinking man's thinking man''- The Journal of Philosophy
Dooley's erudite exposition of Scruton's thought is not only intellectually provoking but genuinely stimulating -- Serge Grigoriev, Ithaca College, USA * The European Legacy: Toward New Paradigms, vol. 19 *

Author Bio

Mark Dooley is an Irish philosopher, author and journalist who has taught at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, and at University College Dublin where he was John Henry Newman Scholar in Theology. He has been a columnist for both the Sunday Independent and the Irish Daily Mail, and is currently a Contributing Editor to The European Conservative magazine. His many books include The Roger Scruton Reader, Why Be a Catholic, Moral Matters: A Philosophy of Homecoming, and Conversations with Roger Scruton, all published by Bloomsbury. In 2022, he edited and published Against the Tide: The Best of Roger Scruton's Columns, Commentaries and Criticism. He is Sir Roger Scruton's literary executor.

Sir Roger Scruton was widely seen as one of the greatest conservative thinkers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and a polymath who wrote a wide array of fiction, non-fiction and reviews. He was the author of over 50 books.