Culture Counts: Faith and Feeling in a World Besieged

What is culture? Why should we preserve it, and how?

Renowned philosopher Roger Scruton defends Western culture against its internal critics and external enemies, arguing that rumors of its death are seriously exaggerated. Scruton presents our culture as a continuing source of moral knowledge, rebutting the fashionable sarcasm that dismisses it as nothing more than the useless legacy of “dead white European males.”

Key Themes Explored in the Book:

• Arts and Philosophy:
  Scruton defends what T.S. Eliot called “the common pursuit of true judgement” against dismissive attacks from new academicians.
• Music and Moral Education:
  • Advocates for the classical tradition and the American popular song.
  • Highlights the harm caused to the psyche by new forms of pop music.
• Traditional Architecture and Figurative Painting:
  Robustly supports these elements of culture while being critical of fashionable relativists, such as Michel Foucault, Edward Said, and Richard Rorty.

A Call for Civilization and Serious Culture:

Scruton emphasizes the urgent need for self-knowledge and self-confidence, gifts provided by serious culture, to sustain and preserve our civilization.