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

by Mark Dooley

Roger Scruton is one of the outstanding British philosophers of the post-war years. Why then is he at best ignored and at worst reviled? Part of the reason is that he is 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 has since 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 defends an Hegelian and Burkean view of human nature, one founded on allegiance to the State as the guarantor of tangible freedom. He thus opposes 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. In recent years his conservative notion of the nation state has been 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 the author of this book, is the one British intellectual who has courageously rowed against the tide of liberal conviction and has arrived at political conclusions the truth of which are becoming more and more obvious. This book argues conclusively that Roger Scruton is a prophet for our times.

Genres: Philosophy, Biography

200 pages, Hardcover

First published May 21, 2009

About the author

Mark Dooley is an Irish philosopher, writer, journalist, public speaker and academic. He is also a regular radio broadcaster and guest of TV shows, and has in addition served as a speech writer. He has led a journalistic and an academic career simultaneously. He is a specialist of continental philosophy, philosophy of religion and theology. He wrote a study of Søren Kierkegaard's ethical, religious and cultural insights, and then moved on to interrogating conceptions of God and ethics, which led to the publication of two collections of essays. He then published a monograph on Roger Scruton and a collection of Scruton's texts, and was called by the Catholic hierarchy in Ireland to write about the ways forward for the Irish Catholic Church in the wake of the abuse revelations. In Moral Matters: A Philosophy of Homecoming, he develops his own philosophy and outlines his intellectual journey for the first time. Meanwhile, he is also a regular guest on the Irish radio and a columnist. [Wikipedia]

Reviews

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roger Scruton. The Philosopher of Dover Beach offers the first synoptic analysis of Scruton’s philosophical thought. In this book, Mark Dooley brings out the core ideas contained in 40 books written by Scruton over four decades, and provides the philosophical background to understand their genesis and their articulation. The composition of the book is pedagogic in that each chapter builds on the concepts laid in the previous one. The different chapters of this book then explore the genealogy of Scruton’s thought and the various themes running through his works: personhood, sex and the sacred; aesthetics; Scruton’s conservatism and its economic, legal and environmental implications; and the defence of the nation state in the face of liberal internationalism. Very clear and enjoyable. MUST READ to understand one of the greatest English philosophers of our times.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A complete study of the work of the controversial conservative philosopher Roger Scruton. It was a difficult read and took me three attempts to finish it mainly because it often degenerates into flowery language and constant references to a 'transcendent realm' which doesn't explain anything. I know that we have always had something like that at the heart of human societies but I would like a scientific explanation instead of explaining away things with irritating rhetoric, but then Scruton is critical of science. The meaningless but nice-sounding language and scepticism of science almost make him sound postmodernist at times, and he does agree with Richard Rorty on some points.

Though I found much contradiction in the book there are some very good observations if you can dissect them from the mass of rhetoric. I made lots of notes on the book and I felt that it sharpened my ideas even though I don't agree with Scruton or Dooley on many things.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic introduction to Scruton's work. Only criticism was that Dooley is a bit unreflective on some of the more contentious aspects of the man's thought. In typical philosophical parlance it is not kosher to write such things as "If Scruton is right, which he undoubtedly is,..." -- but after all, the purpose of the book is more to lay out the concepts, and it does so very well.

[Dennis R · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few years ago, I was introduced to the thinking of Roger Scruton, more correctly Sir Roger Scruton in another book I was reading, and I was intrigued. I started by reading a collection of articles by Scruton that had been edited by Mark Dooley and found myself both challenged and comforted.
I was challenged by being, at least vicariously, in the presence of great mind, expressing a fully integrated philosophical system of acquiring, thinking about and using knowledge to lead a better life. I was challenged by Scruton's reference to the common sense and commonly held objects and pursuits of life as the basis for finding meaning. I was challenged by his invocation of our duties to those who have passed away and those yet unborn to pass on a world of beauty and meaning.
I was comforted to find a person seeking to make sense of the seemingly senseless world of narcissism, magical thinking, humanism run riot, and the deep loss of belonging. I also found a spirited defense of religion's centrality to the success of the West and of the nation state's common understandings as the creators of meaning.
I look at the book on my desk with post it notes sticking out from all directions and my red pencil peeking out from my last underlining and know I will read this again and be challenged and comforted once more.

[Ryan Stambaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5