| Interpretations of Edmund Burke usually tend in one of two general directions: Either his thought is viewed as representing the ancient heritage of Greek, Roman and Christian political thought, more specifically the tradition of natural law, or it is seen as representing a modern, more "liberal" and individualistic mode of thought derived from thinkers like Locke. However, conventional categories such as "ancient" and "modern" do not seem separately to capture the essence of Burke's thought. His emphasis on the individual, the concrete and the historical is a synthesis of modern and ancient political thought. His idea of freedom incorporates essential elements of the classical and medieval heritage, notably the idea of an objective moral order and the concept of man's political nature. The dissertation investigates Burke as a synthesizer through an analysis of his writings, especially as they bear on his idea of the constitution, and through an assessment of scholarly interpretations of his thought.; Burke's thought is first characterized in relation to other thinkers, including Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Thomas, Locke and Hegel. The main interpretations of Burke are introduced. Using his writings and speeches, the dissertation then seeks to verify the hypothesis of Burke as a synthesizer. The meaning of the "spirit" of the constitution and the role of history is discussed. The Burkean synthesis is explicated with the aid of the concept of the "inner check" presented by Paul Elmer More and the concept of "will" presented by Benedetto Croce. The relevance of the notion of synthesis for Burke's statements on a number of vital themes of his thought, for instance, regarding law, parties, the aristocracy, and the people, is examined. Burke's view of the role of the imagination and his idea of moral action as at the same time economic is discussed. The synthesis discerned in Burke's thought is further illumined through critical examinations of studies on Burke by four well-known scholars, Mansfield, Canavan, Morley and Stanlis. Finally, the thesis is restated, and it is concluded that although neither Burke nor most of his commentators use the concept of synthesis, his thought is highly suggestive of a synthesis between ancient and modern political thought. |
