Edmund Burke’s Politics of Sympathy. Tolerance and Solidarity for India
Edmund Burke’s Politics of Sympathy. Tolerance and Solidarity for India
Author(s): Christos GrigoriouSubject(s): Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Social Philosophy
Published by: Trivent Publishing
Keywords: David Hume; Adam Smith; India; Sympathy; Pity; Sublime; Tolerance;
Summary/Abstract: The article focuses on Burke’s engagement with India and the Impeachment of Warren Hastings. It attempts to trace the way in which Burke, in his rhetoric on India, uses the sentimentalist vocabulary of the Scottish Enlightenment and, more particularly, the concept of sympathy. Burke, it is suggested, passes from a Humean to a Smithian understanding of sympathy, giving however, at every stage of this development, his own turn and character to the concept. Overall, Burke’s writings on India denote political reflexes that are quite advanced for his time and oblige us to reconsider the stereotypical image of Burke as an icon of conservatism.
Journal: The Philosophical Journal of Conflict and Violence
- Issue Year: 3/2019
- Issue No: 2
- Page Range: 1-14
- Page Count: 14
- Language: English