The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate the aesthetic strategy of the political philosophy of Edmund Burke, by considering the relation between the "artificial infinite" of the Enquiry Into our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, and the "immemorial custom" of the Reflections on the Revolution in France. The argument addresses misreadings of Burke found in recent critical theories on the "aestheticism" of "bourgeois ideology." / The thesis shows that the demotion of the sublime in favour of the beautiful which is considered by these critics to be characteristic of bourgeois aestheticism, does not happen in Burke's aesthetics. It also shows that the "naturalism" of bourgeois ideology is contradicted by the strategic artificiality of Burke's politico-aesthetic. Insofar as the ideologue seeks to resolve the contingent aspects of language and history, Burke cannot be considered an ideological thinker. Rather, Burke's political philosophy consistently fails to provide the coalescence of subjective and universal which is required for ideology. Finally, the irreconcilable contingency of Burke's view of political experience shows that his conservatism is not, as his critics would have it, static and unchanging.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.60059 |
| Date | January 1990 |
| Creators | Macpherson, Sandra. |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Department of English.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001234753, proquestno: AAIMM67784, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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