April 26, 2012
Last week, Dr. Leslie Marsh lectured about Michael Oakeshott’s philosophy of dispositional conservatism. Michael Oakeshott, a twentieth century political theorist and philosopher, is revered as one of the most important conservative philosophers in recent history. In one of his most famous essays “On Being Conservative,” Oakeshott solidified conservatism not as an ideology but a disposition that focuses on the importance of the familiar and traditional. At the end of the lecture, I found myself asking the following question: How would Oakeshott regard the current state of political discourse at Hamilton?
After my first year as a student on the Hill, however, I find that the Hamilton community is more apathetic than many similar college campuses when it comes to discussing politics. It is true that the Republican Club, Democrat Club, HEAG, as well as the Alexander Hamilton Institute, are somewhat active and politically charged clubs on campus. You may also see references to politics in some of the on-campus publications.
Yet, I believe that the political should not be put on the sidebar or just referenced. What I am really getting at is that students—whether on the left or right—should be enraged about the current state of politics in America. Moreover, we should embrace the political in our everyday discussion to cultivate ourselves as individuals, academics and intellectuals. Politics are a component of our civic duty and our commitment to embracing the foundations of a truly liberal-arts education.
I am not arguing that there needs to be more of a conservative presence at Hamilton—although I do believe that would add to the intellectual diversity on campus—but that the dispositional characteristics of Oakeshott’s philosophies may bring about more positive changes in the community environment.
Oakeshott argues being “conservative is to be disposed to think and behave in certain manners; it is to prefer certain kinds of conduct and certain conditions of human circumstances to others.”
And, more to the point, Oakeshott describes the premise of the university environment as a place of multiple, differeing voices. Each discipline and way of thinking brings about a richer and more intellectually and emotionally stimulating community. A liberal education, at a liberal-arts institution like Hamilton, should be augmented by establishing more crucial components of our educational lives as components of our dispositions. Put another way, intellectual discussion must transcend beyond the classroom and extracurricular activities, and into our everyday conversations.
With that in mind, we will learn how to extend the dispositional aspects of his philosophy to our own political convictions on the Hill and to other areas of our lives. In doing so, we revive that Aristotelian notion embedded in our Nation’s tradition that we are “political animals” because we cannot run a nation without political participation and popular knowledge of the system in place.
All that said, most students here would agree that the insulated nature of the “Hamilton bubble” makes such discussions difficult. To ameliorate such a problem, I think that the administration should really focus on the school’s educational mission. Namely, the definition of a liberal arts degree.
The concept of a liberal education is stemmed in the notion that a student should be well-rounded and have an interdisciplinary intellectual outlook on society and the world. Since our education extends beyond classrooms and into lectures, clubs and other social events, I feel that the administration should bring more speakers to campus, host more debates and put more emphasis on the importance of discussion as it relates to our intellectual and academic growth. To many, the critique on American feminist culture by Ariana Levy, or Dr. Dorothy Roberts’ lecture on race, or even some of the recent lectures about art do not seem political at face-value. However, I believe that there is either a political premise or force behind the many facets of discussion we involve ourselves in.
Our capacity to reason and our abilities to engage in political discourse is what makes us effective beings. Unless we embrace the political as a way of life or as a critical component to gradual societal progression, we further insulate ourselves from the political process and from being able to make changes in the way our local communities, and governments, operate. By making politics an aspect of everyday dialogue, we foster lively discussion that allows us to cultivate ourselves as human beings, academics and intellectuals. Political discussion should not be confined to government, women’s studies, sociology and public policy students, but to all majors across the board. So my plea to the Hamilton community is this: Get enraged, be loud and make changes.