The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Conservatism, epistemology and value

Conservatism, epistemology and value
Conservatism, epistemology and value
A series of recent papers has discussed whether conservatism has a distinct set of values (substantive), or whether it consists in an attitude to shared values (adjectival). This paper argues that adjectival conservatism is a genuine type of conservatism, consistent with the Burkean tradition, in accordance with the idea that conservatism is concerned with change, and arguable using public reason. A version of adjectival conservatism derived from epistemological scepticism, consisting of a knowledge principle and a change principle, is presented. It is shown to (a) be resistant to arguments that adjectival conservatism is not a genuine type of conservatism, and (b) contain a distinct ideological programme, and not be restricted to a mere commentary on the activities of other ideologues.
conservatism, risk, scepticism, epistemology, innovation
0026-9662
423-440
O'Hara, Kieron
0a64a4b1-efb5-45d1-a4c2-77783f18f0c4
O'Hara, Kieron
0a64a4b1-efb5-45d1-a4c2-77783f18f0c4

O'Hara, Kieron (2016) Conservatism, epistemology and value. [in special issue: Conservatism] The Monist, 99 (4), 423-440. (doi:10.1093/monist/onw014).

Record type: Article

Abstract

A series of recent papers has discussed whether conservatism has a distinct set of values (substantive), or whether it consists in an attitude to shared values (adjectival). This paper argues that adjectival conservatism is a genuine type of conservatism, consistent with the Burkean tradition, in accordance with the idea that conservatism is concerned with change, and arguable using public reason. A version of adjectival conservatism derived from epistemological scepticism, consisting of a knowledge principle and a change principle, is presented. It is shown to (a) be resistant to arguments that adjectival conservatism is not a genuine type of conservatism, and (b) contain a distinct ideological programme, and not be restricted to a mere commentary on the activities of other ideologues.

Text
ohara monist 31.3.16.pdf - Accepted Manuscript
Download (355kB)

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 15 April 2016
e-pub ahead of print date: 1 October 2016
Published date: 1 October 2016
Keywords: conservatism, risk, scepticism, epistemology, innovation
Organisations: Web & Internet Science

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 393303
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/393303
ISSN: 0026-9662
PURE UUID: 554c48b0-f578-4de6-a50f-951eadb99058
ORCID for Kieron O'Hara: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-9051-4456

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 25 Apr 2016 15:31
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 05:31

Export record

Altmetrics

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×