Kieron O'Hara is a philosopher, computer scientist and political writer. He is an associate professor and principal research fellow within the department of Electronics and Computer Science at the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

where he specialises in the politics, philosophy and

epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Epis ...

of technology. He is also a research fellow at the

Web Science Trust The Web Science Trust (WST) is a UK Charitable Trust with the aim of supporting the global development of Web science. It was originally started in 2006 as a joint effort between MIT and University of Southampton to formalise the social and te ...

and the conservative

think-tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental ...

, the

Centre for Policy Studies The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) is a think tank and pressure group in the United Kingdom. Its goal is to promote coherent and practical policies based on its founding principles of: free markets, "small state," low tax, national independ ...

. In ''Conservatism'' (2011), O'Hara developed the philosophy of 'small-c conservatism' that he outlined in ''After Blair'' (2005/7). He argued that conservatism must be a philosophy concerned with

social change Social change is the alteration of the social order of a society which may include changes in social institutions, social behaviours or social relations. Definition Social change may not refer to the notion of social progress or socio ...

, and must be defensible using public reason. To that end, he defined conservatism as the knowledge principle plus the change principle. The knowledge principle, influenced by

scepticism Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...

, states that: “because society and its mediating institutions are highly complex and dynamic with natures that are constantly evolving as they are co-constituted with the individuals who are their members, both data and theories about society are highly uncertain”. The change principle adds: “because the current state of society is typically undervalued, and because the effects of social innovations cannot be known fully in advance, then social change (a) must always risk destroying beneficial institutions and norms and (b) cannot be guaranteed to achieve the aims for which it was implemented. It therefore follows that societies should be risk-averse with respect to social change, and the burden of proof placed on the innovator, not his or her opponents. It also follows that change, when it does come, should ideally be (a) incremental, (b) reversible where possible and (c) rigorously evaluated before the next incremental step”. Influenced by

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">N ...

, Adam Smith,

Michael Oakeshott Michael Joseph Oakeshott FBA (; 11 December 1901 – 19 December 1990) was an English philosopher and political theorist who wrote about philosophy of history, philosophy of religion, aesthetics, philosophy of education, and philosophy of ...

and

Friedrich Hayek Friedrich August von Hayek ( , ; 8 May 189923 March 1992), often referred to by his initials F. A. Hayek, was an Austrian–British economist, legal theorist and philosopher who is best known for his defense of classical liberalism. Haye ...

, O'Hara distanced conservative philosophy from free-market liberalism and

neoconservatism Neoconservatism is a political movement that began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist foreign policy of the Democratic Party and with the growing New Left and ...

. He also developed ideas about risk and uncertainty about the environment to sketch a type of green conservatism. Other projects have included co-authoring the script of '' Tomb Raider 4'' and an article in the '' Journal of Popular Culture'' on the film ''

Carry On Cabby ''Carry On Cabby'' is a 1963 British comedy film, the seventh in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). Released on 7 November 1963, it was the first to have a screenplay written by Talbot Rothwell (although the first screenplay "To ...

Selected bibliography

*''Plato and the Internet'' (2002) *''Trust: From Socrates to Spin'' (2004) *''After Blair: Conservatism Beyond Thatcher'' (2005) *''The Referendum Roundabout'' (2006) *''inequality.com: Power, Poverty and the Digital Divide'' (2006, with David Stevens) *''After Blair: David Cameron and the Conservative Tradition'' (2007) *''The Enlightenment: A Beginner's Guide'' (2010) *''Conservatism'' (with foreword by

David Willetts David Linsay Willetts, Baron Willetts, (born 9 March 1956) is a British politician and life peer. From 1992 to 2015, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the constituency of Havant in Hampshire. He served as Minister of State for ...

, 2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohara, Kieron Living people 20th-century British philosophers 21st-century British philosophers Alumni of the University of St Andrews Alumni of the University of Oxford Video game writers Year of birth missing (living people)