Today marks the birth of Edmund Burke. I find it tiresome that Burke is viewed as some sort of crude reactionary – his work is eminently humane, thoughtful and civilized and despite his ostensibly conservative outlook, it resembles nothing that modern-day fundamentalists who lay claim to the mantle of conservatism, will recognize. As Ian Harris points out there was a whole lot more to Burke than the brilliantly written Reflections – there is his philosophical method and his aesthetics. I still think that Conor Cruise O’Brien’s introduction to Reflections stands the test of time.
Here is a shot of Burke’s statue at Trinity College Dublin where I stayed for my visit to, yes, a Stones concert in September of 2003.
manwithoutqualities 