Concetti Chiave
- Burke was influenced by his time at Trinity College in Dublin, where he studied a treatise on the sublime by Longinus.
- His works are categorized into historical, focusing on the individuality of nations, and philosophical, including his notable essay on aesthetics.
- The Greek treatise "de sublimitate" by Longinus identified the sublime as the source of greatness in art and literature, distinct from mere representation.
- Burke's philosophical enquiry emphasizes the sublime in nature, characterized by its simultaneous horror and beauty.
- He defines the sublime's effects, with astonishment as the major one, rooted in terror, which he sees as the fundamental principle.
Burke's early influences
Burke was born in Dublin where he attended the Trinity College. There he had the possibility to read a treatise on the sublime attributed to Longinus, which inspired his famous enquiry.
We can divided his work into historical and philosophical works.
In all his historical works he emphasized the individuality of each nation.
In the philosophical works we can found an important essay on the aesthetic, entitled “A PHILOSOPHICAL ENQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN OF OUR IDEAS OF THE SUBLIME AND BEAUTIFUL”.
Longinus: the principal document of the classical period was the Greek treatise “de sublimitate” composed in the second century by Longinus. The sublime is what give greatness to art and literature (art is not a representation of exterior reality, but a product of the imagination).
Kant: the “beautiful” is what, in nature or art, give aesthetic pleasure, creating a sense of harmony between the things and ourself.
The concept of the sublime
In his philosophical enquiry Burke doesn’t consider the problem from the philosophical point of view.
He is above all concerned with what may be considered “sublime” in nature, and tries to provide a definition of “sublime” by underlining its causes and effects.
He find the causes in external aspects of nature which may be simultaneously horrible and beautiful.
Then he divided his effects into a major one, the astonishment: the state of the soul in which all the motions are suspended with some degree of horror.
And other lesser one like admiration and respect, concluding that the sublime is always founded on TERROR which he consider “the ruling principle”
Domande da interrogazione
- What early influences shaped Burke's philosophical work on the sublime?
- How does Burke define the concept of the sublime in his philosophical enquiry?
- What distinguishes Burke's approach to the sublime from a purely philosophical perspective?
Burke was influenced by his education at Trinity College in Dublin, where he read a treatise on the sublime attributed to Longinus. This inspired his famous enquiry into the sublime and beautiful, focusing on the causes and effects of the sublime in nature.
Burke defines the sublime as elements in nature that are simultaneously horrible and beautiful, causing astonishment, admiration, and respect. He concludes that the sublime is always founded on terror, which he considers the ruling principle.
Unlike a purely philosophical approach, Burke's enquiry is primarily concerned with identifying what may be considered sublime in nature, emphasizing the external aspects that evoke a state of astonishment and terror.
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