Special issue of Cosmos + Taxis: Oakeshott (original) (raw)

This, the first themed issue of COSMOS + TAXIS, is dedicated to the memory of Kenneth Minogue (1930-2013). Ken, as most will be aware, was a longtime colleague and friend of Michael Oakeshott and was the first President of the Michael Oakeshott Association. Moreover, following in the footsteps of Friedrich Hayek (the first President of the Mont Pelerin Society), Ken served as the Society's 27 th President. Hayek, of course, is very much part of the conceptual dna of this journal. Ken will be remembered as a most generous and congenial person both professionally and privately. He had a twinkle in his eye and a quick and cultured wit. He was never pompous and always showed a genuine interest in things beyond his (pardon the pun) ken. Much of what John O'Sullivan (2013) observed, namely Ken's intellectual honesty and modesty, was borne out by many others' experience. O'Sullivan recalls that: [H]e would delight in having his arguments caught, turned around, and sent whirling back by an opponent. Hearing this mix of logic and wit was rather like listening to a Platonic dialogue rewritten by Noel Coward or Tom Stoppard. Moreover, as O'Sullivan puts it: [Ken] knew that being a good teacher meant being a good learner. He was always ready to listen to other views, however out of the way, and to debate them "politely. " On one occasion he accepted an invitation from Arianna Huffington to the Café Royal to meet her guru of the moment. In the formal informal manner of such events the guests had to introduce themselves. Ken's opening gambit was "My name is Ken. I am a teacher. But I am here to learn rather than to teach. " Ken was always responsive to the many requests that came his way-indeed, in retirement he seemed to be busier than he ever was while at the LSE. Ken had time for students