EN 206 Problem Set #1 1.Who was the most influential conservative
critic of the French Revolution? (Richard Price, Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, or Mary Wollstonecraft?) Edmund Burke 2.Who wrote the first
published radical response to Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France
? (Richard Price, Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, or Mary Wollstonecraft?) Thomas Paine 3.Who wrote the most widely circulated radical response to Burke, which sold more than 200,000 copies in a year? Thomas Paine 4.In his pamphlet condemning the French Revolution, Edmund Burke refers to the rational philosophy of Enlightenment that inspired and justified the revolution as “this barbarous philosophy, which is the offspring of cold hearts and muddy understandings” (192). Why does Burke choose to refer to “barbarous” philosophy, “cold” hearts, and “muddy” understandings? How do these adjectives respond to the way supporters of the revolution describe the rationalist philosophy of the Enlightenment? Burke's word choices support his claim that the Enlightenment is regression rather than progress because it defies long-standing traditions. He believes in traditional methods of submitting to a monarch, and this sudden disruption of all that is traditional is a display of betrayal. Each of these adjectives contradicts the words they describe, as he believes Enlightenment supporters are doing. Burke's adjectives challenge how revolutionaries would describe Enlightenment philosophy. While some would argue that the Enlightenment provides clarity and liberty, Burke considers it "muddy." 5.In what other passage(s) in his Reflections
do we encounter people who could be described as barbarous? In what other passage(s) does Burke refer to offspring? Burke mentions "cruel ruffians and assassins" that caused a massacre of the royal family in rebellion. When he mentions the overthrow of the king and queen, he blames people, which may appear "barbarous". He also mentions offspring when discussing men's real rights. He also mentions offspring when discussing Marie Antoinette, her current imprisonment, and her fate.
