Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful : And Other Pre-Revolutionary Writings

Burke, Edmund; Womersley, David

ISBN 10: 0140436251 / ISBN 13: 9780140436259

Published by Penguin Classics, 1999

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 491381-n

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful : And Other Pre-Revolutionary Writings
• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0140436251
• ISBN 13: 9780140436259
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

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.

About the Author

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.