Twentieth century British philosopher. In common with RichardRorty Oakeshoot held that our perception of reality is largely mediated through a number of practises such as history, morality, politics, science, philosophy, and poetry, none of which can lay claim to giving a complete account of reality. Oakeshott sees assumptions to the contrary as being dangerous, since they tend to act on incomplete and potentially inaccurate assumptions. As such, Oakeshott tends to advocate a conservative approach.