A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful

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The treatise explores the distinction between the sublime and the beautiful, marking a significant shift from Neoclassicism to Romanticism. Burke defines beauty as well-formed and aesthetically pleasing, while the sublime possesses the power to compel or destroy. He employs Aristotelian concepts to analyze the origins of these ideas, presenting an original perspective that separates their causal structures. This work not only influenced prominent philosophers like Diderot and Kant but also reflects the expansive thinking characteristic of Burke's era.