For episode 26, see here
The Theory of the Nation State: The Moderns
XXVII. Convention and Tradition -- Hume and Burke
A. Natural Law hung on in France as revolutionary solvent of an antiquated
system.
B. In defense of revolution in England, natural law had no immediate
practical utility.
1. Idea of deductive ethics and philosophy slowly rejected.
2. Empirical philosophy stressing natural history of ideas and their
derivation from the senses developed (as Locke suggested).
C. David Hume (Treatise of Human Nature, 1739-40)
1. Presented analysis that exposed pretensions of natural law to
scientific validity.
2. Use of reason had uncritically combined and confused three factors.
i. Had effect of describing as necessary truths propositions that can
make no such claim.
ii. Can be things rightly called reasonable in the sense of being
necessary and inevitable, e.g., formal implications where a
conclusion follows if a premise is taken for granted--> deduction. (1)
iii. No "comparison of ideas" can prove a matter of fact, and
relationships between matters of fact are never necessary in a strict
sense but simply empirically correlated.(2)
iv. Reason cannot dictate ways of acting, good or bad but can only
guide us to know how to achieve desired ends and how to avoid
undesired ones.(3)
Hume: "reason is and ought only to be the slave of the passions and can
never pretend to any other office than to save and obey them."
3. The attacked the three branches of natural law system.
i. Natural or rational religion -- a rational metaphysics showing the
necessary existence of anything -- is impossible.
ii. Rational ethics also since values depend on human propensity
to action and reason cannot itself create any obligation.
Virtue is just a quality of mind that is generally approved.
iii. Contractual, consensual theories of politics also as government
doesn't really ask subjects to consent. Loyalty towards
government is as common as feeling that agreements should
be kept; purposes of political allegiance is to keep order and
preserve peace and security while contract creates mutual trust
between private persons. Both are binding because stable
society is not possible without them.
4. Hume didn't find man to be as calculating of his self interest as
did Bentham and the French utilitarians.
5. Common interest exists as body of conventions shown by experience
to serve human needs in a general way. Rules provide stability as
men need to know what they can rely on:
i. Conventions regulating property --> justice
ii. Those that legitimate political authority
iii. Utility includes self interest and social stability
D. Hume's conclusions largely accepted but branded as merely negative.
1. Logical result was empirical positivism.
2. Metaphysics, religion and ethics went on, however, in more or less
traditional forms.
i. Kant and Hegel attempted to reunite reason, fact and value
ii. tendency to either depreciate logic as compared to sentiment or
to hope to combine the two (Carlyle)
iii. respect for sentiment led to new estimate of custom and tradition,
as unfolding of reason rather than its antithesis (Burke)
iv. view of history as gradual unfolding of the absolute
E. Edmund Burke accepted Hume and saw a society's standards as
conventions based on propensities.
1. Saw conventions as repository of achievements of the species.
2. Saw society and propensities as human nature.
3. Consequently, traditions of a nation's life have utility above their
contribution to individual utility.
4. Therefore, tradition of constitution, and of society at large, ought to be
object of almost religious reverence.
5. The species is wiser that the individual or any movement.
6. Supported Whigs because the particular outcome of the English
revolution they represented was by that time tradition.
i. Consequently, his theory of representation looked back to the
17th Century
ii. Denied representation being of individuals or territories
iii. Parliament was meeting place of dominant interests where they
could be held accountable
iv. did, however, see positive benefits of parties as groups of men
pursuing their natural interests upon some shared principle.
7. A people was a "true politic personality" -- a community held together
by sense of membership and duty and not calculated self interest.
8. Man could not live on private stock of reason.
9. Statesman consulted spirit of the constitution to gain clues for its
development; statesmanship is an art.
10. Rejected French Revolution as destruction of society through
destruction of government.
i. For Sabine, Burke confused state, government and society by
interchanging them.
ii. Resulted in transferring reverence toward society to reverence
to the state.
iii. Practically made politics religion and saw unfolding immanence
of God.
11. Rousseau and Burke shared reverence for community.
12. Hegel systematized Burke, though no direct link.
Next week: Hegel -- Dialectic and Nationalism
The Theory of the Nation State: The Moderns
XXVII. Convention and Tradition -- Hume and Burke
A. Natural Law hung on in France as revolutionary solvent of an antiquated
system.
B. In defense of revolution in England, natural law had no immediate
practical utility.
1. Idea of deductive ethics and philosophy slowly rejected.
2. Empirical philosophy stressing natural history of ideas and their
derivation from the senses developed (as Locke suggested).
C. David Hume (Treatise of Human Nature, 1739-40)
1. Presented analysis that exposed pretensions of natural law to
scientific validity.
2. Use of reason had uncritically combined and confused three factors.
i. Had effect of describing as necessary truths propositions that can
make no such claim.
ii. Can be things rightly called reasonable in the sense of being
necessary and inevitable, e.g., formal implications where a
conclusion follows if a premise is taken for granted--> deduction. (1)
iii. No "comparison of ideas" can prove a matter of fact, and
relationships between matters of fact are never necessary in a strict
sense but simply empirically correlated.(2)
iv. Reason cannot dictate ways of acting, good or bad but can only
guide us to know how to achieve desired ends and how to avoid
undesired ones.(3)
Hume: "reason is and ought only to be the slave of the passions and can
never pretend to any other office than to save and obey them."
3. The attacked the three branches of natural law system.
i. Natural or rational religion -- a rational metaphysics showing the
necessary existence of anything -- is impossible.
ii. Rational ethics also since values depend on human propensity
to action and reason cannot itself create any obligation.
Virtue is just a quality of mind that is generally approved.
iii. Contractual, consensual theories of politics also as government
doesn't really ask subjects to consent. Loyalty towards
government is as common as feeling that agreements should
be kept; purposes of political allegiance is to keep order and
preserve peace and security while contract creates mutual trust
between private persons. Both are binding because stable
society is not possible without them.
4. Hume didn't find man to be as calculating of his self interest as
did Bentham and the French utilitarians.
5. Common interest exists as body of conventions shown by experience
to serve human needs in a general way. Rules provide stability as
men need to know what they can rely on:
i. Conventions regulating property --> justice
ii. Those that legitimate political authority
iii. Utility includes self interest and social stability
D. Hume's conclusions largely accepted but branded as merely negative.
1. Logical result was empirical positivism.
2. Metaphysics, religion and ethics went on, however, in more or less
traditional forms.
i. Kant and Hegel attempted to reunite reason, fact and value
ii. tendency to either depreciate logic as compared to sentiment or
to hope to combine the two (Carlyle)
iii. respect for sentiment led to new estimate of custom and tradition,
as unfolding of reason rather than its antithesis (Burke)
iv. view of history as gradual unfolding of the absolute
E. Edmund Burke accepted Hume and saw a society's standards as
conventions based on propensities.
1. Saw conventions as repository of achievements of the species.
2. Saw society and propensities as human nature.
3. Consequently, traditions of a nation's life have utility above their
contribution to individual utility.
4. Therefore, tradition of constitution, and of society at large, ought to be
object of almost religious reverence.
5. The species is wiser that the individual or any movement.
6. Supported Whigs because the particular outcome of the English
revolution they represented was by that time tradition.
i. Consequently, his theory of representation looked back to the
17th Century
ii. Denied representation being of individuals or territories
iii. Parliament was meeting place of dominant interests where they
could be held accountable
iv. did, however, see positive benefits of parties as groups of men
pursuing their natural interests upon some shared principle.
7. A people was a "true politic personality" -- a community held together
by sense of membership and duty and not calculated self interest.
8. Man could not live on private stock of reason.
9. Statesman consulted spirit of the constitution to gain clues for its
development; statesmanship is an art.
10. Rejected French Revolution as destruction of society through
destruction of government.
i. For Sabine, Burke confused state, government and society by
interchanging them.
ii. Resulted in transferring reverence toward society to reverence
to the state.
iii. Practically made politics religion and saw unfolding immanence
of God.
11. Rousseau and Burke shared reverence for community.
12. Hegel systematized Burke, though no direct link.
Next week: Hegel -- Dialectic and Nationalism
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