StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Reflection on the revolution in France - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
REFLECTION ON THE REVOLUTION IN FRANCE Edmund Burke, member of the parliament and an Irish author is best known for his renowned 1790s book called ‘Reflections on the Revolution in France’. In the book he discusses his political philosophy that denounced the French Revolution…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97.6% of users find it useful
Reflection on the revolution in France
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Reflection on the revolution in France"

Download file to see previous pages

Burke’s stand is clarified when he writes “no man should be the judge in his own cause”.1And “this can only be done by a power out of themselves and not in the exercise of its function, subject to that will and to those passions which it is its office to bridle and subdue”. 2The French revolutionists demonstrated this point when they overlooked their main cause, which was freedom and started demanding equality, which is also known as ‘freedom’s enemy’. Burke opined that liberty although a necessity, should however be limited, otherwise it can result in extreme chaos.

Burke also focused primarily on presenting practical solutions instead of fixating on the metaphysics when he writes “What is the use of discussing a man's abstract right to food or to medicine? The question is upon the method of procuring and administering them. In this deliberation I shall always advise to call in the aid of the farmer and the physician, rather than the professor." 3He was a Whig and a Protestant and while rejecting a monarchic government he also accentuated the need of adhering to rules of the government to keep the nation functioning in the appropriate order.

Burke stresses upon man’s complex nature and the subtleties that affect it when he says: “The nature of man is intricate; the objects of society are of the greatest possible complexity: and therefore no simple disposition or direction of power can be suitable either to man’s nature or to the quality of his affairs”. 4 He criticizes the governments for being ignorant and not fully capable of making the right decisions by keeping in mind man’s complicated temperament and the situation at that place and time.

“Political reason is a computing principle; adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing, morally and not metaphysically, or mathematically, true moral denominations”. 5 Here Burke assumes that man’s actions are related to his own being or points of interest and he does not necessarily act according to his fellow’s welfare. With this in mind Burke believed that there is a need for a flexible social control depending on the circumstances at that particular moment. Burke was in fact, both a monarchist and a democrat.

At times he looks up to the controlled regime of a King or a dictator whereas sometimes he consents a democratic government and the rights it gives its citizens. During Burke’s time there was a lot of confusion about the way things should be. The way governments worked was changing and if we follow his ways we see not so much political philosophy as everyday rationality. Burke was a true traditionalist and it was his words that defined conservatism. Having read his writings in this day and age, it can only be hoped that he would approve of the way our governments’ work.

However nothing can be said about whether he would approve of the results because governments nowadays cross several norms and have many different ways to work around various rules. We are not sure of what the individual rights of people really are and have lost the focus to more false rights of masses that beg for increased modifications. This has affected society in more ways that we know. We are getting lost in this distorted society that we live in, something that Burke would have not respected or supported.

Burke tried his best to create a balance between political requirements and the realities of human nature. We cannot say that his solutions were flawless however they also

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Reflection on the revolution in France Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Reflection on the revolution in France Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1457520-reflection-on-the-revolution-in-france
(Reflection on the Revolution in France Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
Reflection on the Revolution in France Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words. https://studentshare.org/history/1457520-reflection-on-the-revolution-in-france.
“Reflection on the Revolution in France Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1457520-reflection-on-the-revolution-in-france.
  • Cited: 1 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Reflection on the revolution in France

Reason in Historical Concepts of Human Rights

The term "human rights" is comparatively new, having come into everyday manner of speaking only since World War II and the founding of the United Nations in 1945, it replaces the phrase "natural rights", which fell into disfavors in part because the concept of natural law to which it was intimately linked had become a matter of great controversy, and the later phrase "the rights of Man" which was not universally understood to include the rights of women. … Many scholars and students of human rights trace the historical stemmata or origins of the concept back to ancient Greece and Rome, where it was closely tied to the pre-modern natural law doctrines of Greek Stocism , the school of philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium, which held that a universal working force pervades or spread in all creation and that human conduct therefore should be judged according to, and brought into harmony with, the law of nature....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

French R 1/evolution and Paine

Paine, wrote in 1791 a reply to Reflections on the revolution in france by Edmund Burke, actually defended the French Revolution by saying that the revolution was necessary to bring in equality and human liberty, which have been deprived for a very long time in France.... , ambitions of rising bourgeoisie, aggrieved fate of farmers and wage earners, influence of ideas of enlightenment mainly from Rousseau and Voltaire, intolerance of absolute monarchy, arrogance and prerogatives of nobility and unquestioned and unchallenged authority of Roman Catholic clergy were all reasons for the revolution....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The French Revolution

It reappeared during the revolution of 1848 marked with a religious dimension: priests celebrated the "Christ-Fraternité" and blessed the trees of liberty that were planted at the time.... The paper 'The French revolution' presents one of the central events in Western civilization - a period of history whose characters and events have always remained fascinating.... But the French revolution ironically was a failed revolution: Liberté, Egalité, and Fraternité....
11 Pages (2750 words) Case Study

What is the importance of custom, prejudice and tradition in Burkes philosophy

He believed that this process adaptation could not be achieved through the effect of instantaneous regulation in france or elsewhere else.... However, a close analysis of Burke's philosophy on the French revolution indicates that his philosophy was a based on prejudice, his understanding of the human social organization and his affinity for the already established tradition and customs. Burke was not totally… However, he opposed to movements that would result to an abrupt breaking away from the existing traditions, even if their courses were good. Burke did not like To add on this, they always insisted on the total and rash implementation of those abstract rights....
4 Pages (1000 words) Outline

How does Kuwait follow the stages of Edmund Burke's Theory of Modern Revolutions

Reflections on the revolution in france.... To begin with, Dreyer described Edmund Burke as a key philosophical founder of modern conservatism and a representative of classical liberalism who is best known for his steadfast opposition to the French revolution (462-479).... Based on his reflections on the French revolution,… The objective of this present study if to validate the Edmund's theory by showing how Kuwait as a case study has followed through the first stage of the modern revolutions and how it has How Kuwait Followed the Stages of Edmund Burke's Theory of Modern revolution Introduction To begin with, Dreyer described Edmund Burke as a key philosophical founder of modern conservatism and a representative of classical liberalism who is best known for his steadfast opposition to the French revolution (462-479)....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Revolutions and their significance

“The revolutions in france and Russia liberated the enormous power of social reality of the people, creating powerful images of democratic equality to come” (Foran and Lane et al.... in france, not just its society underwent an epic transformation by favoring democracy over aristocracy, the world also grew fond of secularism and liberalism and a rapid rise in democracies and republics was witnessed afterwards.... revolution in the making of the modern world....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Blog Posts on Political Science

Also crucial in both cases is the behaviour and the attitude of women as subjects of the revolution.... Thus, with the revolution, the Americans were able to substitute the sovereignty that had existed in the King George III personage.... he American revolution marked a departure in the concept of popular sovereignty as it had been known and used in the European historical context (Constitution Society, n....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Napolon III Emperor of the French

In the following paper “Napoléon III Emperor of the French” the author discusses President of france from 1849 to 1852, and then Emperor of the French under the name Napoléon III from 1852 to 1870.... After an extremely unsuccessful coup in the 1830s, he was exiled from france by the then King Louis Philippe (he went in the U.... From then, until his return to france, he became a well-published, and well-respected liberal....
8 Pages (2000 words) Assignment
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us