Summary of Yuval Levin's The Great Debate

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The late eighteenth century was an age teeming with towering political figures who were simultaneously statesmen and philosophers. Among Burke’s close acquaintances and friends were Thomas Paine, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and many other American founding generation legends.

#2 The debate between Burke and Paine was part of the profound social and political flux of the age. It was clear to all that the challenge posed by Enlightenment ideas about freedom and equality would yield deep and lasting changes.

#3 Burke’s Irish upbringing and education left him with a deep love of language, the written word, and philosophy. He spent the rest of his life in England, but retained a sense of how accommodations built up from reserves of trust, warm sentiment, and moderation.

#4 Burke was a satirist who wrote a book called A Vindication of Natural Society in 1756, which argued that all organized religions are essentially artificial and that only a simple, natural religion could be legitimate. He drew a sharp distinction between natural and artificial beliefs.

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Rafbók: 29 april 2022