With the passing of Sir Roger Scruton after a half year long struggle with cancer, several Polish politicians and publicists took the time to honor Sir Scruton’s great mind and friendship with Poland.
“Sir Roger Scruton has passed away. A philosopher. A friend of Poland. On June 4, 2019, President Andrzej Duda awarded Professor Scruton with the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. RIP” wrote PL1918, a Twitter account celebrating 100 years of Polish independece.
Odszedł Sir Roger Scruton, filozof. Przyjaciel Polski.
4 czerwca 2019 roku, Prezydent RP @AndrzejDuda odznaczył Pana Profesora Krzyżem Wielkim Orderu Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej.
RIP. pic.twitter.com/K5sXPLSC5M
— PL1918 (@PL1918) January 12, 2020
PiS MP and former Sejm speaker Marek Kuchciński emphasized that Scruton was a great intellectual.
“Sir Roger Scruton passed away. He was an incredible person, a good and wise friend. A great intellectual. We valued him for that the most. A huge loss and sorrow. He will live eternally in our memory,” said Kuchciński.
Sir Roger Scruton zmarł dziś rano. Był niezwykłym człowiekiem, dobrym, mądrym Przyjacielem. Wielkim intelektualistą. Za to ceniliśmy go najbardziej. Ogromna strata i smutek. Będzie żył wiecznie w naszej pamięci pic.twitter.com/PFk9nyAgOu
— Marek Kuchciński ?? (@MarekKuchcinski) January 12, 2020
Journalist Stanisław Janecki praised Scruton’s resilience to “trends” and “pseudoscience”:
“Roger Scruton (…) an intellectual for whom Europe can be proud of. Resilient to trends, craziness and pseudoscience. A friend of Poland. A great loss. RiP.”
Zmarł Roger Scruton, jeden z tych intelektualistów, z których Europa może być dumna. Odporny na mody, szajby i pseudonaukę. Przyjaciel Polski. Wielka strata. RIP pic.twitter.com/3d5IRM6SwS
— Stanisław Janecki (@St_Janecki) January 12, 2020
Polish publicist Łukasz Adamski mentioned the huge impact Scruton had on his own work:
“One of the most important intellectuals whose works shaped me. R.I.P.”
Jeden z najważniejszych intelektualistów, którego pisma mnie ukształtowały. R.I.P https://t.co/c4W1zWPNnx
— Łukasz Adamski (@adamskilukasz1) January 12, 2020
Senior Polish publicist Piotr Semka talked of Scruton’s bravery:
“Sir Roger Scruton. 1944 – 2019. A brave man. I had the honor of conducting an interview with him in 1996.”
Sir Roger Scruton. 1944-2019. Odważny człowiek. Miałem zaszczyt zrobić z nim wywiad w 1996r. R.I.P pic.twitter.com/tMugDCoxEz
— Piotr Semka (@PiotrSemka) January 12, 2020
Poland was one of many countries, including Hungary, that celebrated the life of Scruton following his passing.
From 1982 to 2001 Scruton was the editor of The Salisbury Review, a conservative political journal. He wrote over 50 books on philosophy, art, music, politics, literature, culture, sexuality, and religion. In addition, he also wrote novels and two operas.
Scruton embraced conservatism after witnessing the May 1968 student protests in France. From 1971 to 1992 he was a lecturer and professor of aesthetics at Birkbeck College, London, after which he held several part-time academic positions, including in the United States.
In the 1980s he helped to establish underground academic networks in Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe, for which he was awarded the Czech Republic’s Medal of Merit by President Václav Havel in 1998.
His activities in Czechoslovakia included smuggling in books, supporting banned artists and offering courses on subjects that were banned or suppressed by communist authorities. For his efforts, he was detained in Brno in 1985 and expelled from the country.
Scruton was knighted in the 2016 Birthday Honors for “services to philosophy, teaching and public education”.
Scruton’s most notable publications include The Meaning of Conservatism (1980), Sexual Desire (1986), The Aesthetics of Music (1997), and How to Be a Conservative (2014).
He was a regular contributor to the popular media, including The Times, The Spectator, and the New Statesman.
