The philosophical theory of Edmund Burke
In the history of Psychology, philosophy has always had a great influence, the discipline from which it emerged in the 19th century. The way in which human beings are usually understood and the personal relationships that they establish, for example, depend on intuitive, pre-scientific perspectives, in which the leading thinkers of the West have influenced.
The philosopher Edmund Burke was one of these people , and its conservative approach when analyzing the logic by which society operates is still valid today. Next we will see what was the philosophical theory of Edmund Burke and what implications it has.
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Who was Edmund Burke?
Edmund Burke was born in Dublin in the year 1729, during the Enlightenment. From his youth he understood that philosophy had a spatial relevance for politics, since it helped to understand how to consider abstract issues that were manifested through the crowds and, in addition, established moral guidelines to follow, which allow proposing systems of social order.
The above led him to participate in the English parliament between 1766 and 1794 . In this lapse he defended the right of the English colonies to become independent, and in fact he positioned himself against the occupation of North America. Economically, as we shall see, he was a radical defender of the free market.
The theory of Edmund Burke
The main aspects of the philosophical theory of Edmund Burke, with respect to human behavior and social phenomena, are the following.
1. The noble component of society
Burke understood that human society not only exists to enable individuals to exchange goods and services, as it might appear from a materialist perspective. For this philosopher there is another thing that gives value beyond the simple observable exchange through payment and joint surveillance of a common space.
This "extra" is virtue, arts and sciences, which are products of society. It is a component that ennobles human beings and, according to Burke, distinguishes them from animals.
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2. The idea of the contract
Through this double exchange, both material and spiritual, human beings establish a social contract, a series of negotiated conventions as long as civilization is maintained and its fruits are enjoyed by the greatest number of people.
3. Civilization has deep roots
This virtuous component that human beings obtain through mutual support does not exist for the sake of it. It has its origin in tradition, in the way in which each culture remains faithful to its customs , their past and the way in which they honor their ancestors. Supporting ourselves in the cultural contributions that we inherited from previous generations is something that allows us to progress, then, according to this thinker.
This way of understanding society does not keep it separate from its origin, but understands it as a living being that develops and matures.
4. Individual fault
At the same time, Edmund Burke emphasized another element that, for him, it was inherited: the original Christian sin . It was opposed to the idea that society can approach immoral acts or approach them through progress: guilt exists independently of the educational influences of the society in which we live and, in any case, the company of others. helps to manage it thanks to the fact that the flame of religion is kept alive in the community.
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5. Opposition to revolutions
As usual, Edmund Burke was opposed to revolutions, paradigm shifts in a society . This is so because he understood that each culture must develop at its "natural" rhythm (remember the analogy with the living being). Revolutions, by their own definition, imply moving to question many ideas rooted in the past and customs that have shaped civil and political life, and therefore are, for him, an artificial imposition.
6. Defense of the free market
While in the social Edmund Burke encouraged the active defense of values and traditional customs beyond any debate about its usefulness in specific situations, in the economic opposed to a socialized control. That is defended the free movement of capital . The reason is that this was a way of reaffirming the importance of private property, which, in line with other philosophers of the time, considered an extension of one's own body.
Definitely
Edmund Burke believed that the human being can only be understood taking into account their inclusion in a social network of habits, beliefs and customs with a strong roots in what the ancestors did.
In this way he emphasized the importance of the social and, at the same time, could establish a distinction between the cultural and the economic sphere, in which the logic of private property predominated.
