Modernist philosophy, which since Descartes has sought to posit individuality (‘the self’) as naturally independent and transcendent, fails because ‘to be a self is simply to be a person’ – a member of the community. In the process of finding against existentialists, poststructuralists, and the like, Scruton surveys four centuries of thought by evaluating thinking about such concepts as truth, cause, and science. The thematic groupings also manage a rough chronological order, an impressive feat. Scruton’s hero is Kant for the categorical imperative: treat others as having inherent value, as ends not means. An excellent work.