Oakeshott On The Perpetual Tension Between Civil Association And Enterprise Association

Michael Oakeshott is labeled solely as conservative among Chinese intellectuals rather than various understandings in western academic circle. However, this paper tries not to offer accurate definition and evaluation about his lineage in political thought, but reconstruct his philosophical understanding regarding the character of modern European states based on the coherence in his academic career, which focuses on the state as civil association and enterprise association. In other words, this reflection is concerned with the character of a modern European state as an association of human beings and the office or engagements of its government. One must return to the original place of his thought for the sake of this purpose. It is the discrimination between experience and its modes, accordingly including the discrimination between two modes in human association on account of analyzing human conduct. The following three chapters will serve to elaborate this subject.The first chapter will discuss the distinction and connection between reflective philosophy and politics as practice, in order to create the possibility of thinking about politics philosophically, which depends on the following differences among experience as the whole, practice as abstract mode, politics as practice and philosophy without presupposition. Consequently, neither political suggestions nor political justifications can these reflections on politics afford us philosophically. Actually, a philosophy of politics which is irrelevant to practical world is mainly concerned with the character of politics, referring to defining different political vocabulary by nominating them and rebuilding their relationship, further translating them into philosophical conceptions.In the second chapter, philosophy is considered as "theorizing" while the term has been greatly transformed from experience to "understanding" human conduct. Practices, morality and law have been endowed with specific meanings in the course of expounding considerations and presuppositions about human conduct. Civil association and enterprise association which establish the foundation for reexamining modern European states have been correspondingly revealed by identifying morality and prudence, in which the former is the non-purposive association in terms of rules between free individuals; the latter is the association pursuing common substantial goals in which rules are only regarded as instruments and tools.The third chapter turns to explain discrepant circumstances about the character of modern European states in accordance with the above-mentioned arguments. This explanation is not historical but quasi-philosophical fundamentally since it debates on the character of a modern European state as an association of human beings and the office or engagements of its government. The two coexisting conceptions regarding the state stem from Roman private law etymologically, but the history of the late medieval times still provided plausible analogy. The making of modern European states which have comprised two opposing power is for this reason an inevitable mixture.In conclusion, we can reach a place where Oakeshott has an explicit consciousness about the complex relationship among philosophy, history and politics. On the one hand, they are independent categorically, therefore the philosophical understanding cannot render us any direct practical help; on the other hand, the efforts to understand considerations and presuppositions embedded in practice philosophically encourage us to rethink our practice once again. In this case, the remarkable characteristic of his thought is decided by his coherent interpretation of a conception of philosophical understanding and its significance for practice. In accordance with this standpoint; we must observe the principle "the mean" in action, and try to become "the trimmer" while the philosopher only gives us a certain "direction" ultimately, keeping silent on the specific propositions.