Burke's hugely influential work - particularly in art - on the sublime and the beautiful
Edmund Burke was one of the foremost philosophers of the eighteenth century and wrote widely on aesthetics, politics and society. In this landmark work, he propounds his theory that the sublime and the beautiful should be regarded as distinct and wholly separate states - the first, an experience inspired by fear and awe, the second an expression of pleasure and serenity. Eloquent and profound, A Philosophical Enquiry is an involving account of our sensory, imaginative and judgmental processes and their relation to artistic appreciation. Burke's work was hugely influential on his contemporaries and also admired by later writers such as Matthew Arnold and William Wordsworth. This volume also contains several of his early political works on subjects including natural society, government and the American colonies, which illustrate his liberal, humane views.
								
								
							
							
								
								
							
						
					 				
				 
			
			
				
					
	By:   
	
Edmund Burke
	
	Notes by:   
	
David Womersley
	
	Introduction by:   
	
David Womersley
	
	Imprint:   Penguin Classics
	
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
	
Dimensions:  
	
		Height: 198mm, 
	
	
	
		Width: 128mm, 
	
	
		Spine: 25mm
	
	
	
		
Weight:   359g
	
	
	
	
	
		
		
	
	ISBN:   9780140436259
	ISBN 10:   0140436251
	
Pages:   528
	
Publication Date:   08 February 1999
	
	Audience:  
	
		
		
		General/trade
	
		
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		College/higher education
	
		
		, 
		
		
		Professional and scholarly
	
		
		, 
		
		
		ELT Advanced
	
		
		, 
		
		
		Primary
	
	
	
Format:   Paperback
	
	Publisher's Status:   Active
				
 
			 
			
		    
			    
				    
						List of Abbreviations A Chronology of Edmund Burke Introduction Further Reading A Note on the Texts A Vindication of Natural Society (1756; second edition, 1757) A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful (1757; second edition, 1759) Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents (1770; third edition, 1770) Speech on American Taxation (1774; third edition, 1775) Speech on Conciliation with the Colonies(1775; third edition, 1775) Letter to the Sheriffs of Bristol on the Affairs of America (1777; third edition, 1777) Notes Biographica
				    
			    
		    
		    
			
				
					
					
						Edmund Burke (1729-97)  was elected as an MP in 1781. He championed the unpopular cause of Catholic emancipation and a great part of his career became dedicated to the problem of India. The French Revolution prompted one of his best-known works Reflections on the Revolution in France.   David Womersley is editor of Augustan Critical Writing, which was recently published in Penguin Classics.