ABSTRACT
Based on the theoretical understanding of human and moral conduct outlined above, Oakeshott next puts forward his explanation of the civil condition.1 In the last essay of OHC this is understood in historical terms as the character of the modern European state.2 Here I shall look at both of these essays. I continue to point to the philosophical character of Oakeshott’s writings on politics, focusing upon the relationship between politics and morality. I also develop my argument that there is an unaccounted-for fluidity of the modes or discourses of human practice. As the terminology in these essays is quite complex, a brief summary might be useful to follow the arguments set out below.
