Edmund burke

Patriotism and Public Spirit: Edmund Burke and the Role of the Critic in Mid-18th Century Britain, is a groundbreaking study of the great political philosopher Edmund Burke. The book provides a scholarly advancement of existing knowledge regarding Burke and the intellectual milieu that was so important to his development as a thinker. Chapter one offers an assessment of the early influences on Burke’s life and political thought. The limits of various “Enlightenment” metaphors often used to describe mid-18th century European intellectual life, and potential influences upon Burke, are critiqued with great precision and insight. Burke’s first tome,  A Vindication of Natural Society, is the focus of the second chapter of the book, and the author provides a definitive interpretation of the classic text that expands and refines earlier assessments by Carl Cone and Peter Stanlis.

The influence of Burke’s native Ireland as a continuation of earlier themes is explored in a most convincing fashion in Chapter Three. The author also dissects the perennial excesses of the tendency to manipulate the “Irish Burke” for political gain. In fact, Crowe argues that Burke’s formative political and academic experiences augment his defense of religious toleration and the refinement of the uses of public rhetoric. Burke’s contribution to the study of aesthetics is assessed most carefully and with great illumination, with Burke’s Philosophical Enquiry serving as the centerpiece of the analysis in Chapter Four. The last chapter is devoted to an explication of Burke’s “Abridgment of the English History,” and the importance of restoring order amidst the chaos of social and political life. Patriotism and Public Spirit fills a critical lacuna in British intellectual history, Burke scholarship, and political thought.

Books related to this essay may be found in The Imaginative Conservative Bookstore.

All comments are moderated and must be civil, concise, and constructive to the conversation. Comments that are critical of an essay may be approved, but comments containing ad hominem criticism of the author will not be published. Also, comments containing web links or block quotations are unlikely to be approved. Keep in mind that essays represent the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Imaginative Conservative or its editor or publisher.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email