Michael Oakeshott (1901 - 1990): an Intellectual Biography

目的是制作一个既学术性又平易近人的“生活和作品”，人性化的有趣，说明奥克肖特的生活，作品（出版和未出版）与时代之间的关系，成为未来研究人员的资源，并揭示奥克肖特70年来积累的杂项笔记和反思，并将其作为对现代思想的重大贡献呈现出来。主要研究问题有：奥克肖特的智力谱系；他的思想和他的生活之间的关系（他的思想仅仅是他行为的一种合理化，还是他活出了他的思想？）他的思想在多大程度上受外部因素（如阶级、教养、两次世界大战、冷战）的制约；他的思想是如何与他的同行（贝丁、波兰尼、他在伦敦政治经济学院的同事波普尔和哈耶克）联系起来的；他关于思想最终是实践的残余的论点是否会妥协（即相对化）其自身的有效性主张。奥克肖特已经成为真正的大生意，在过去几年里，有关他的思想的书籍接连出版。去年12月在耶拿大学举行的一次会议显示，在前东欧集团，奥克肖特工业蓬勃发展，动力非常强劲，与会者远至匈牙利和保加利亚（美国一直对此感兴趣）。人们比以往任何时候都更需要一部完整的、补充性的传记。此外，奥克肖特的生活具有一种独立的、内在的兴趣，虽然他是一个非常注重隐私的人，但他认识许多公众人物，他的私人生活非常丰富多彩。我比任何人都更有资格写奥克肖特的生活，因为我是应奥克肖特家人的要求（他们喜欢我1990年写的关于奥克肖特的书）开始写这本书的，而且我还获得了大量私人档案的独家访问权。我还拥有奥克肖特父亲的所有文件（老奥克肖特是费边社和伦敦经济学院的创始人之一）。这项工作遵循正常的叙事历史程序：积累文献和口头证据，对其进行批判性审查，以及解释，消除或解决矛盾。大部分文件（主要是信件）都保存在伦敦政治经济学院庞大的奥克肖特档案中；到目前为止，我已经数码拍摄、转印到CD上，并印刷和装订了大约12500页，还有大约1500页要处理。（我省略了后来出版的材料。）我不得不这样做，因为我负担不起在伦敦生活足够长的时间，无法直接从档案馆工作；但是很有用！副作用是，这些副本最终将提供给其他研究人员。我对奥克肖特的家人、朋友和同事进行了多次采访，尽管遇到了巨大的挫折（见下面的时间表），我还是设法在他们最近去世之前抓住了许多最年长的人。我还发现了大量的新材料（见下面的变化）。其布局是直接按时间顺序排列的，作品被视为日常生活事件，并与之交织在一起。关键的标题是：早期生活和成长；“进步”教育;剑桥;神学上的利益;德国和流浪者；早期唯心主义哲学；第一次和第二次婚姻；在《幻影》中服役；上流社会入门（阿斯特出版社）；牛津大学;与艾里斯·默多克、詹妮弗·哈特等人有婚外情；1951年至1969年在伦敦经济学院任拉斯基教授；《政治中的理性主义》（1962）；*0n人类行为*（1975年）；他后来受到了后现代主义者如理查德·罗蒂的培养。最后对他的性格和思想及其矛盾的本质进行了概括：波西米亚与爱国主义；传统主义vs。“自由恋爱”;对军事美德的崇拜与强烈的反战情绪反唯物主义与捍卫资本主义；对权威的信仰与近乎无政府主义倾向；虔诚vs.怀疑。

The object is to produce a 'life and works' that shall be both scholarly and accessible, humanly interesting, illustrate the relations between Oakeshott's life, works (published and unpublished) and times, be a resource for future researchers, and bring to light Oakeshott's 70-year-long accumulation of miscellaneous notes and reflections and present them as a significant contribution to modern thought. Main research questions are: Oakeshott's intellectual pedigree; the relations between his thought and his life (was his thought merely a rationalization of his conduct, or did he live out his ideas?); how far his thought was conditioned by external factors (e.g. class, upbringing, two World Wars, the Cold War); how his thought relates to others with whom he is bracketed (Bedin, Polanyi, his LSE colleagues Popper and Hayek); whether his contention that thought is ultimately the residue of practice compromises (i.e. relativizes) its own claim to validity. Oakeshott has become seriously big business, with a stream of books about his thought appearing in the last few years. A conference at Jena University last December revealed a thriving, very high-powered Oakeshott industry in the former Eastern bloc, with participants from places as far afield as Hungary and Bulgaria (there has always been interest from the USA). More than ever there is a need, and a demand, for a full-length, complementary biography. Furthermore, Oakeshott's life possesses an independent, intrinsic interest though a very private person, he knew many public figures, and his private life was notably colourful. 1 am still better qualified than anyone else to write his life, since I undertook it at Oakeshott's family's request (they liked my 1990 book on him), and have been given sole access to a large private archive. I am also in possession of all Oakeshott's father's papers (Oakeshott senior was a founder of the Fabien Society and also of LSE). The work follows the procedures of normal narrative history: the amassing of documentary and oral evidence, the subjection of it to critical scrutiny, and the explanation, elimination or resolution of contradictions. Most of the documents -correspondence, largely - are in the massive Oakeshott archive at LSE; I have so far digitally photographed, transferred to CD, and had printed and bound about 12,500 pages, and have about 1,500 left to process. (I have omitted material subsequently published.) I have had to do this because I could not afford to live in London long enough to work directly from the archive; but a useful! Side-effect is that these copies will eventually be made available to other researchers. I have conducted many interviews with Oakeshott's family, friends and colleagues, and despite huge setbacks (see Timetable below) have managed to catch many of the oldest before their recent deaths. I have also uncovered a great deal of new material (see Changes below). The layout is straightforwardly chronological, with the works being treated as, and interweaved with, regular life-events. Key headings are: early life and upbringing; 'progressive' schooling; Cambridge; theological interests; Germany and the *Wandervoger; early Idealist philosophy; first and second marriages; war service in 'Phantom'; introduction to high society (Astor's); Oxford; affairs with Iris Murdoch, Jenifer Hart and others; move to Laski's Chair at LSE (1951-69); *Rationalism in Politics* (1962); *0n Human Conduct* (1975); his subsequent cultivation by post-modernists like Richard Rorty. To be concluded by a general summary of his character and thought, and their paradoxical nature: bohemianism vs. patriotism; traditionalism vs. 'free love'; admiration for the military virtues vs. deeply anti-war sentiments; anti-materialism vs. defence of capitalism; belief in authority vs. near-anarchist leanings; piety vs. scepticism.