Rationalism in politics, as I have interpreted it, involves an identifiable error, a misconception with regard to the nature of human knowledge, which amounts to a corruption of the mind. And consequently it is without the power to correct its own short-comings; it has no homeopathic quality; you cannot escape its errors by becoming more sincerely or more profoundly rationalistic.

— Michael Oakeshott Rationalism in Politics and Other Essays (1962)

More quotes by Michael Oakeshott

Experience and Its Modes (1933)

Experience and Its Modes (1933)

Rationalism in Politics and Other Essays (1962)

On Human Conduct (1975)

Rationalism in Politics and Other Essays (1962)

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