Roger Scruton experienced what it means to be generous and what can be gained when civilization makes a concerted effort to celebrate and practice virtue.

To properly do philosophy, one does not need to spend eight years getting a Ph.D., figure out exactly what Plato or Aristotle thought, or win a debate. Scruton knew this truth intimately, having been expelled from the academy some years ago. He understood that at its heart, philosophy is an act of love.

The philosopher, who died Sunday at 75, was often criticized by the leftist intellectual establishment for nothing more than making much-needed observations they termed value judgments, which involved a defense of Western Civilization and the order of things.