The Cambridge Companion to Edmund Burke

This comprehensive and accessible Companion examines the life and writings of Edmund Burke, one of the eighteenth century's most influential thinkers.

David Dwan (Edited by), Christopher Insole (Edited by)

9780521183314, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 22 October 2012

286 pages
22.6 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.39 kg

'The Cambridge Companion to Edmund Burke is a book for our time: it should help undergraduates know what is expected of them in their exams; it is a helpful supplement to Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France but not a replacement for Burke's own texts.' Edward Andrew, The European Legacy

Edmund Burke prided himself on being a practical statesman, not an armchair philosopher. Yet his responses to specific problems - rebellion in America, the abuse of power in India and Ireland, or revolution in France - incorporated theoretical debates within jurisprudence, economics, religion, moral philosophy and political science. Moreover, the extraordinary rhetorical force of Burke's speeches and writings quickly secured his reputation as a gifted orator and literary stylist. This Companion provides a comprehensive assessment of Burke's thought, exploring all his major writings from his early treatise on aesthetics to his famous polemic, Reflections on the Revolution in France. It also examines the vexed question of Burke's Irishness and seeks to determine how his cultural origins may have influenced his political views. Finally, it aims both to explain and to challenge interpretations of Burke as a romantic, a utilitarian, a natural law thinker and founding father of modern conservatism.

Acknowledgements
List of contributors
Method of citation
Chronology
Introduction: philosophy in action
1. Burke's life F. P. Lock
2. Burke, Enlightenment and Romanticism Richard Bourke
3. Burke as rhetorician and orator Christopher Reid
4. Burke's aesthetic psychology Paddy Bullard
5. Burke on law and legal theory Seán Patrick Donlan
6. Burke on political economy Richard Whatmore
7. Burke and religion Ian Harris
8. Burke and the constitution David M. Craig
9. Burke and the natural law Christopher Insole
10. Burke and utility David Dwan
11. Burke and the ends of empire Jennifer Pitts
12. Burke and the American crisis Harry T. Dickinson
13. Burke on India Frederick G. Whelan
14. Burke on Ireland Ian McBride
15. 'Reflections on the Revolution in France' Iain Hampsher-Monk
16. Burke's counterrevolutionary writings Iain Hampsher-Monk
17. Burke in the USA Seamus Deane
Further reading.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], Literature: history & criticism [DS]