Roger Scruton's Blog, page 18

Close Encounters - Puritanical Progressivism, Dec 18

Sir Roger Scruton & Ben Weingarten discuss political unrest in the West & its historical context, the puritanical nature of progressivism & attempts by its adherents to stifle dissent, the imperative to defend free speech & more.

Here the interview here

Asnières speech - The right we want is conservative

"Conservatism can transmit the legacy of freedom, freedom that could be too much liberalism to be challenged by other ideologies." Roger Scruton 

Read the full transcript here.

BBC Radio 4 Point of View - The Witch Hunt Culture - 2 December 19

The witch-hunt culture.

Three years ago the distinguished biochemist Sir Tim Hunt, recipient of the Nobel Prize, Fellow of the Royal Society and one of the jewels in the crown of British science, made a casual remark, during a speech at a conference of science journalists, which seemed to imply that women and men might not be equally suited to a scientific career. The remark was tweeted, and the mob got to work on it. Very soon Sir Tim found himself forced out of his position as honorary Prof...

Scrutopia Summer School 2019

Now running for a third year, the Scrutopia summer school offers a ten-day immersion experience in the philosophy and outlook of Sir Roger Scruton, the British writer and philosopher who has inspired many searching people to believe in Western civilisation and its legacy. Sir Roger will lead the course of study, which will take place in and around his house near historic Malmesbury in the Cotswolds, from 31st July to 9th August 2019. Residents will be housed in the Royal Agricultural Universi...

Sin Bin

Journalists who find it difficult to follow intellectual arguments or to understand the use of irony may nevertheless be anxious to add to the indictment against me. I have made a preliminary survey in search of sentences that can be used out of context as evidence of crimethink and come up with the following interim observations:

Homophobia. Following the discovery somewhere in my writings and speeches of the impious remark that homosexuality is ‘not normal’, I have naturally been on the loo...

Statement Concerning my role and aims in the Commission on Building More, Building Beautifully.

The architectural press has been predicting that I will use my position as chair of the above commission to impose a rigid stylistic conformity, and that my well-known love of the classical vernacular will become a kind of aesthetic dictatorship, compelling architects on pain of – of what exactly? – to build according to principles dictated by me.

            In fact, in conjunction with the government and the civil service, I am putting...

The Inaugural Colin Amery Memorial lecture, Policy Exchange - 14 Nov 18

The Fabric of the City - read the lecture HERE. 

Watch the lecture HERE.

The Loss of Home - Policy Exchange - 1st November

Published by PolicyExchangeUK on 1 Nov 2018 Sir Roger Scruton has been appointed as the chairman of the Government’s advisory committee on Building Better, Building Beautiful. As part of the Building Beautiful Month at Policy Exhange, Syrian architect and author Marwa Al-Sabouni spoke on “The Loss of Home”. Marwa appeared in conversation with Sir Roger and was introduced by Tom Tugendhat MP.

Watch the lecture

Links to Support

In the wake of recent attacks I have taken the unusual step of posting on this site some tokens of appreciation, by way of encouraging those who value my contribution to the life of the mind. Outside Britain it is quite normal for my work to be appreciated, and as an example I have included the remarks from Professor Jürgen Stolzenberg, with which he introduced my recent lecture on Parsifal at the Siemens Foundation. (Apologies for not translating.) Inside Britain, where my every deviation fr...

News from Scrutopia - 9 Nov 18

News from Scrutopia 
Much has been happening, and we thought it best to send out a newsletter somewhat ahead of time. Shortly after returning from America, Roger gave a lecture at the Siemens Foundation in Munich, on the topic: ‘What is Parsifal about?’ An audience of solid burghers listened politely and questioned tenaciously, so that Roger came away more than ever convinced that he has yet to understand either Wagner’s masterpiece or the German response to it. Nevertheless, wo...