Sir Roger Scruton, a British philosopher and controversial public intellectual who "dedicated himself to nurturing beauty, 're-enchanting the world' and giving intellectual rigor to conservatism," died January 12, the Guardian reported. He was 75.
Scruton wrote more than 50 nonfiction books, including works on Spinoza, Kant, Wittgenstein and the history of philosophy; and four novels, as well as columns on wine, hunting and current affairs. The Guardian wrote that he "exemplified Nietzsche's aphorism that 'every philosophy is a sort of memoir.' His was spun out of his life--often agonizingly."
His books include Kant: A Very Short Introduction (2001); Green Philosophy: How to Think Seriously About the Planet (2012); England: An Elegy (2000); The Aesthetics of Music (1997); Sexual Desire (1986); The Meaning of Conservatism (1980); An Intelligent Person's Guide to Modern Culture (1998); and Thinkers of the New Left (1985), which was later expanded as Fools, Frauds and Firebrands (2015).
His agent, Caroline Michel, told the Bookseller: "A world without Roger Scruton is unimaginable. Before Christmas we were due to meet as he had so many ideas for new books. His curiosity was endless, his intellect, towering, as well as being the loveliest of men. He was revered internationally and adored within the agency here at PFD. We will all miss him."
Robin Baird-Smith, Scruton's publisher at Bloomsbury, observed: "After 25 years, I have now published 15 of his books--all in print. He became the backbone of my publishing life and until recently he and I were still discussing new projects. I shall miss him sorely as will his countless readers and admirers. He was a major influence on the ethos of the Bloomsbury Continuum imprint."
In 2016, he was knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honors List, "the same year he was awarded the Polish Lech Kaczynski Foundation's Medal for Courage and Integrity for supporting dissidents behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War," the Bookseller noted.