Hello and welcome to Another Scotland. Over the course of the next fifteen months (and possibly more) I’ll be posting a series of articles outlining my own views on the subject of Scottish Independence. I’ll be writing about the subject from a whole range of perspectives touching on history and culture, as well as politics. But first off I thought it would be best to start by saying a little bit about the philosophy of this site.
Why Another Scotland?
Another Scotland is about re-imagining Scotland – past, present and future. It’s about exploring the other potential countries that we might like to inhabit, sifting through the different possibilities and then campaigning to make those alternative visions a reality.
Right now the idea of independence is a Tabula Rasa – a blank canvas onto which everyone can project their hopes and aspirations for the future. At the same time however that idea of a blank canvas can also be used by others to tap into people’s natural aversion towards doubt and uncertainty – to project fear if you will.
At this moment the entire future of the UK is up for grabs. Whether or not you agree with the idea of independence it is vital that you take part in this debate – otherwise, one way or another, you run the risk of waking up one day and discovering that you really do live in a different country to the one you thought you were living in.
I recently began ready ‘The Scottish Enlightenment: An Anthology‘, and Alexander Broadie’s introduction sums things up quite well:
In Enlightenment, therefore, the autonomy of reason is centre-stage. We think in an enlightened way when it is we who are generating the ideas. Instead of doing no more than following intellectual pathways cut by others, giving our assent to their ideas without any contribution of our own, we are engaged in thinking creatively. This suggests that enlightened thinking is not to be identified by its content so much as by its form. It is not what we think that makes our thinking enlightened but the way we think. In particular the enlightened thinker accepts things not merely on the authority of another but on his own authority and in the light of his own thinking on the matter.
Another Scotland summarises my own thinking on the topic of independence, but more importantly it is also intended as a means of pursuing the second key aspect of Enlightenment discourse – the need for such ideas to be rigorously tested through free and open public debate.
Right now there is an online publishing explosion going on in Scotland. Blogs such as National Collective, Bella Caledonia, Wings over Scotland and many others are giving established media outlets a run for their money in terms of political commentary. Access to, and control over, publishing is far greater now than it was in the 18th century creating the potential for a far greater plurality of debate.
It’s in the spirit of that ‘Republic of Letters’ that Another Scotland is intended to operate, and I actively welcome your comments and contributions.
Another Scotland 