What we’re about
Welcome to Scrutopia!
In this Meetup we’ll be looking at the thought and works of the late English philosopher and writer, Sir Roger Scruton (1944–2020), hoping to find others along the way who are similarly inspired by his outlook and books.
We’ll range far afield in exploring numerous subjects of Sir Roger’s concern, including matters of philosophy, culture, religion, nature, and the arts.
Ideas of conservatism lay at the heart of Scruton’s worldview, so we’ll spend considerable time examining how he articulated and applied various conservative principles in the aforementioned domains.
Although Scruton’s works will form the basis of our discussions, we’ll draw upon the output of other thinkers as well, ranging across topics, for example, in agrarianism and deep ecology, post-liberalism and paleo-conservatism, Western history and heritage studies, and various forms of transcendental thought.
Don’t be troubled if these topics are unfamiliar to you, or, indeed, if you have only a passing acquaintance with Scruton, himself. We value interest and openness much more than knowledge and experience—the latter can be gained along the way!
Scruton’s notions of conservatism revolved at least as much around ‘lived practices’ as any cluster of ideas or theories, so as supplements to our discussions, we’ll arrange for other group activities as well—activities that might illuminate Scruton’s kind of conservatism much more than mere conversations ever could.
Here, we’ll organise (according to member interest and with consideration of local event offerings) attendance of classical music concerts, museum exhibitions, nature walks, and guided tours of religious sites in and around Edinburgh.
Please join us! All are welcome in our exploration of the insights and mysteries of…Scrutopia.
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P.S. If Scruton is new to you, you might want to have a look at these pages...
Roger Scruton website: https://roger-scruton.com/homepage/about
New Culture Forum interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b2JHLXU4zE
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Disclaimer
In no instance will organisers be held liable to any party for any direct, indirect, consequential, or other damages arising from his or her attendance at one of our events. Attendance is at your own risk. The organiser, co-organiser, host, and Meetup are not responsible for loss, damage, theft, injury to oneself or equipment, allergic reactions, traffic or parking violations, or accidents with your vehicle.
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Some circumstances and venue settings necessitate that we limit the number of attendees. In that case, we’ll create a waiting list for anyone who would like to participate should a space become free.
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If you mark yourself as attending but fail to turn up, we will record this as a ‘no-show.’ Organisers reserve the right to discontinue membership of anyone accruing two or more ‘no-shows’ for Scrutopia events.
Thank you!
Upcoming events (1)
See all- Human Rights, Human Wrongs: Roger Scruton on Moral RelativismWalter Scott monument, Edinburgh
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Please join us for a discussion of moral relativism and of ‘human rights,’ for which we’ll draw mainly upon a 2012 interview with Roger Scruton, in which he stated the following:
“It is obviously a part of human nature to affirm ourselves through moral judgments, and when people adopt the view that all moral judgments are relative or subjective, they turn that into an objective morality too. So it becomes a kind of sin to be other than a relativist…
“You see this happening especially in things like the European Court of Human Rights, where…you find people with old-fashioned objective systems of values constantly being called before the judges and reproached for the fact that they are discriminating against people who don't share their values…so it becomes ever more difficult to retain those old-fashioned objective views of what morality is without being condemned on moral grounds for having those views…
“[This] kind of subjectivism becomes a moral norm, so it's not that people have really given up on the idea of objective morality. It’s that they're making a certain kind of subjectivity into an objective morality. It’s a kind of paradox.”
Attendees should watch the interview in advance of the meeting and come ready with a few comments and questions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5BXyvMU80Q
As supplement to our discussion, we’ll also consider the following New Culture Forum video, minding the NCF pledge that “the United Kingdom must withdraw from the European Convention of Human Rights” (which, in 1959, established the European Court of Human Rights):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER0ZWmr9p-0&t=99s
We look forward to the discussion and hope to see you there!
Christopher and Sonja
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Additional links:
A little background on the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR):
https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/issue/what-is-the-echr-and-why-does-it-matter/
(“The ECHR is a ‘living instrument’, which means that the rights protected in it will develop over time in accordance with changes to social norms etc. For example, a case called Goodwin established the right to change one’s legal gender in the UK. Staying in the ECHR and retaining the HRA means that our human rights protections can also continue to evolve with the times.”)
Sunak and Starmer on the ECHR:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QhF6gUPXlks
Farage on the ECHR:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-ZptS1IjaQ
Rees-Mogg on the ECHR:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIur8TkAB7k
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Please note that this will be a joint event with the New Culture Forum Edinburgh Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/new-culture-forum-edinburgh-meetup/), with an invitation extended to members of the NCF Locals platform as well.
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Illustration: “The Right to Know” (1968) by Norman Rockwell
