Reflections on the Revolution in France

by Edmund Burke

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Reflections on the Revolution in France Questions and Answers

Explain the following quote from Reflections on the Revolution in France: "On this scheme of things, a king is but a man; a queen is but a woman; a woman is but an animal; and an animal not of the highest order".

  Explain the following quote: "Society is indeed a contract. . . . As the ends of such a partnership cannot be obtained in many generations, it becomes a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born" (203).

“A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation.” How did Burke reconcile these seemingly contradictory approaches to politics and society?

Explain the quote "a perfect democracy is therefore the most shameless thing in the world."

What views does Edmund Burke express about social classes and his vision for society at the time in his pamphlet Reflections on the Revolution in France? Burke is clearly a monarchist, but does he view the different social classes? What does Burke have to say about the term prejudice? Which of the three fundamental rights in the pamphlet include the term?

What were Edmund Burke's key points in his Reflections on the Revolution In France?

Drawing on Edmund Burke’s theory, briefly explain why Burke disagrees with Mary Wollstonecraft’s suggestion about radically reforming relations between men and women during the French Revolution.

Compare and contrast Sieyès's, Burke's, and Paine's understandings of how the three estates worked in practice, and relate this to the work of governance. Build a close analysis of Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France, Sieyès's What Is the Third Estate, and Paine's Rights of Man, showing where and how the texts explain the three estates.

What value does Burke see in revolutions of any kind?

What are the characteristics of good political leadership?

  Explain the following quote: "All the good things which are connected with manners and with civilization, have, in this European world of ours, depended for ages upon two principles: . . . the nobility and the clergy" (193). 

Explain the following quote: "All the good things which are connected with manners and with civilization, have, in this European world of ours, depended for ages upon two principles: . . . the nobility and the clergy" (193). 

Why does Burke object to a polity founded on 'reason' and 'rights' rather than 'tradition' and 'responsibilities?' IN Reflections on the Revolution in France.

What does Burke see as the basis, the foundation, of human society and government? 

Explain the ideals and events leading up to the French Revolution based on Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke. 

How did Reflections on the Revolution in France by Edmund Burke improve democracy?