Romanticism

A Romanticism is a cultural and philosophical movement that emphasizes emotion, imagination, and subjective experience over reason and objective analysis.

• AKA: Romantic Movement, Romantic Era, Romantic Philosophy, Romantic Period.
• Context:
  • It can typically revolt against enlightenment rationalism and scientific materialism in favor of spiritual insight.
  • It can often celebrate individual genius, natural beauty, and authentic feeling over social convention.
  • It can frequently inspire cultural revivals, nationalist movements, and artistic innovations.
  • It can valorize the medieval past, folk traditions, and organic community against modern alienation.
  • It can range from being an Aesthetic Romanticism to being a Political Romanticism, depending on its application domain.
  • It can range from being a Conservative Romanticism to being a Revolutionary Romanticism, depending on its political orientation.
  • It can range from being a Individual Romanticism to being a Collective Romanticism, depending on its social focus.
  • It can range from being a Spiritual Romanticism to being a Secular Romanticism, depending on its metaphysical commitment.
  • ...
• Examples:
  • German Romanticism including Sturm und Drang and Jena Romanticism.
  • English Romanticism with William Wordsworth and Lord Byron.
  • French Romanticism featuring Victor Hugo and Eugène Delacroix.
  • American Transcendentalism as romantic philosophy.
  • Musical Romanticism from Beethoven to Wagner.
  • ...
• Counter-Examples:
  • Age of Enlightenment, prioritizing reason and universal principles.
  • Classicism, emphasizing formal rules and ancient models.
  • Realism, focusing on objective depiction rather than subjective expression.
  • Positivism, seeking scientific knowledge over intuitive understanding.
• See: Philosophical Movement, Counter-Enlightenment Philosophy, Romantic Nationalism, Cultural Movement, Aesthetic Theory, German Idealism, Volksgeist, Sublime Experience, Organic Philosophy.

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