Romanticism

Term Paper Title	Romanticism
# of Words	443
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	1.77

Romanticism

History 151
Final

It was a reaction against the Enlightenment and yet akin in that they both assumed life was designed for human happiness. However the Enlightenment placed reason at the center of human acheivement. Romanticismm distrusted the human intellect and placed its value on the emotions and intutive qualities. The natural and spontaneous was deemed good. The highest truths would be derived from the instantaneous of the individual. It gloried in the unlimited potential of the individual. There was an overall feeling of optimism and belief of a utopia. Romanticism reinforced the emotionalism of the period and its philosophies influenced the Transcendental movement.
Transcendalism grew when people like Emerson protested the churchs' lifeless teachings. Transcendalism's body of doctrine was back to nature, a divine spark in each individual and a belief in the goodness of man. Transcendalists emphasized feeling over reason and that the human has faculties to transcend experiences, i.e. to go beyond the senses. They looked at Jesus Christ as an example of that human potential. They were to follow the inner conscience, even if driven through conscience, to defy the state. It built on the principles of individualism, self reliance, strength and confidence to strike out on own. They were critical of government, laws, social institutions, debasing commercialism and whatever kept humans from reaching their highe...

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