teaching practice

Edmund Burke's Political Theory 1. Burke is quite critical of many of the liberal political theorist that have we have discussed. For Burke terms like liberty, freedom, natural rights, and the General Will should not be used in abstraction. They can only be discussed in context, and more importantly they can only be implemented in the appropriate historical context e.g. England in the seventeenth century, but not France in the eighteenth century. Consent and Contract 2. …

…constraints. Burke did not recognise what both Mill and Rousseau did that human nature can change in differing circumstances through political participation. Mill, for instance, will argue that liberty is too difficult for the barbarians society, but he does believe that Britain in the 19th century has advanced to the point they can be allowed to exercise it. Burke is unwilling to take chances and trust that people can advance and rise to the occasion.