Michael Oakeshott (1901 - 1990): an Intellectual Biography

其目的是创作一本既有学术价值又通俗易懂、富有人文情趣的《生活和作品》，阐明奥克肖特的生平、作品(已出版和未出版)与时代之间的关系，为未来的研究者提供资源，揭示奥克肖特70年来积累的各种笔记和思考，并将它们作为对现代思想的重大贡献呈现出来。主要的研究问题是：奥克肖特的思想谱系；他的思想与他的生活之间的关系(他的思想仅仅是他行为的合理化，还是他实现了他的思想？)；他的思想在多大程度上受到外部因素的制约(例如，阶级、教育、两次世界大战、冷战)；他的思想与他所在的其他人(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)的关系；他的观点是否最终是实践妥协的残余(即相对主义)本身的有效性。奥克肖特已经成为真正的大企业，最近几年出现了一系列关于他的思想的书籍。去年12月在耶拿大学举行的一次会议揭示了前东欧国家蓬勃发展、动力非常强大的Oakeshot产业，与会者来自遥远的匈牙利和保加利亚(美国一直有兴趣)。人们比以往任何时候都更需要一本完整的、互为补充的传记。此外，奥克肖特的生活具有独立的、内在的兴趣，尽管他是一个非常私密的人，他认识许多公众人物，他的私生活非常丰富多彩。我仍然比其他任何人都更有资格写他的生活，因为我是应奥克肖特家人的要求(他们喜欢我1990年写的关于他的书)而写的，而且我获得了一个大型私人档案馆的独家访问权。我还拥有奥克肖特父亲的所有文件(老奥克肖特是法比安协会的创始人之一，也是伦敦政治经济学院的创始人)。这部作品遵循正常叙事历史的程序：收集文件和口头证据，对其进行批判性审查，以及解释、消除或解决矛盾。大多数文件--主要是通信文件--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，我已经用数码照片拍摄了文件，转移到CD上，打印和装订了大约12,500页，还有大约1500页需要处理。(我略去了后来发表的材料。)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来直接从档案馆工作；但这是一个有用的！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，尽管遭遇了巨大的挫折(见下面的时间表)，我还是设法在许多年龄最大的人最近去世之前抓住了他们。我还发现了许多新的材料(见下文的变化)。其布局直接按时间顺序排列，作品被视为日常生活事件，并与之交织在一起。主要主题有：早期生活和成长；进步的学校教育；剑桥；神学兴趣；德国和*流浪者；早期理想主义哲学；第一次和第二次婚姻；《魅影》中的战争服役；上流社会简介(阿斯特出版社)；牛津大学；与艾丽斯·默多克、詹妮弗·哈特等人的关系；进入伦敦政治经济学院担任拉斯基主席(1951-69)；*政治中的理性主义*(1962)；*《论人类行为*》(1975)；他后来被理查德·罗蒂等后现代主义者培养。总结一下他的性格和思想，以及他们矛盾的本质：放荡不羁与爱国主义；传统主义与自由爱情；对军事美德的钦佩与强烈的反战情绪；反物质主义与捍卫资本主义；信仰权威与近乎无政府主义倾向；虔诚与怀疑主义。

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scholarly and accessible, humanly interesting, illustrate the relations between Oakeshott's life, works (published and unpublished) and times, be a resource for future researchers, and bring to light Oakeshott's 70-year-long accumulation of miscellaneous notes and reflections and present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.