Gentle regrets : thoughts from a life / Roger Scruton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Scruton, Roger.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Scruton, Roger.

Philosophers--Great Britain--Biography.

Philosophers.

Great Britain.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

vii, 248 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

New York ; London : Continuum, 2005.

Summary:

Roger Scruton is Britain's best-known intellectual dissident, who has defended English traditions and English identity against an official culture of denigration. Although his writings on philosophical aesthetics have shown him to be a leading authority in the field, his defence of political conservatism has marked him out in academic circles as Public Enemy Number One. Whether it is Scruton's opinions that get up the nose of his critics, or the wit and erudition with which he expresses them, there is no doubt that their noses are vastly distended by his presence, and constantly on the verge of a collective sneeze.

Contrary to orthodox opinion, however, Roger Scruton is a human being, and Gentle Regrets contains the proof of it-a quiet, witty but also serious and moving account of the ways in which life brought him to think what he thinks, and to be what he is. His moving vignettes of his childhood and later influences illuminate this book. Love him or hate him, he will engage you in an argument that is both intellectually stimulating and informed by humour.

Contents:

1 How I Discovered Books 1

2 How I Discovered my Name 7

3 How I Discovered Culture 19

4 How I Became a Conservative 33

5 Stealing from Churches 57

6 Growing up with Sam 85

7 Sleeping Cities 121

8 Opera and I 131

9 Drinks in Helsinki 147

10 Impressions d'Afrique 175

11 Returning Home 197

12 Regaining my Religion 219.

ISBN:

0826471315

OCLC:

58998079