Romanticism and Existentialism Ch.7

the enlightment

 A period during which western

philosophy embraced the belief that unbiased reason

or the objective methods of science could reveal the

principles governing the universe. These principles

could be used for the betterment of humankind.

many thinkers in the enlightenment

 were deist or atheist, and beliefs should be accepted only through reason and not religious tradition/dogmatism

what was the most important human attribute in the enlightment

rationality

the enlightenment was the age of

reason

enlightenment was supported by

by British empiricists like Hobbes, Locke, J.S.

Mill and French Sensationalists, and the Positivists.

some philosophers who disagreed with the enlightenment focused on …

searching for universal truths and focused rather on personal experiences and individual truths which aligned more with Sophism and Skepticism

who were the forces of criticism against the enlightenment movement

romanticism and existentialism

romanticism

The philosophy that stresses the uniqueness of each

person and that values irrationality much more than rationality

According to the romantic, people can and should

 trust their own natural impulses as guides for living

romantics believed in

human emotions, intuitions, and instincts.

Best way to find out what humans are like is to study the

the total person, and not just human rationality or empirically determined ideas.

empiricists sensationalists and rationalists did not complete negate emotions t of f

true

who is the father or romanticism

jean jacques rousseau

rousseau emphasized what in contrast to reason as the important guiding force in human nature

feelings

“man is born free yet we see him everywhere in chains”

rousseau

the best guide for human conduct is according to Rousseau

a persons honest feelings and inclinations

for roussea, human are

basically good, born good but made bad by by societal institutions

noble savage

a human whose behavior was governed by feelings, but who would not be selfish

general will is what is according to rosseu

best within a community, should be distinguished from private will (selfishness)

rousseau suggested that educations should

create a situation in which a child’s natural

abilities and interests can be nurtured. emile

goethe viewed humans as

being torn by the stresses and conflicts of life.

according to goethe , life consisted of…

opposing forces.. love and hate, life and death, good and evil

• goal of life is to embrace these forces rather than to deny or overcome them

according to goethe what should be the object of study

 intact, meaningful psychological experience  rather than meaningless isolated sensations

Goethe’s philosophy of life is an influence on

Nietzsche

who proposed a theroy of evolution before darwin

goethe

 Goethe contended that sensory experiences could be studied

objectively by a form of

introspection

Goethe used a form of what is now called

behavioral therapy, used on his depressed theology students

Goethe’s writings influenced 

 Freud and Jung. (Opposing forces,

Conflicting forces) (Jung quotes Goethe’s Faust in one of his

writings)

 Schopenhauer based his philosophy on

Kant’s

what did schopenhauer equate with Kant’s noumenal world (things in themselves in nature)

wit will- a blind force which cannot be known

• In humans, this force manifests itself in the will to survive. This will to survive causes an unending cycle of needs and need satisfaction.

schopenhauer believed that behavior is

irrational

• An unending series of pains due to unsatisfied need which causes us to act

  to satisfy the need, followed by a brief experience of satisfaction

  (pleasure) followed again by another need to be satisfied, and on it goes

schopenhauer felt intelligent beings suffers the most because of

awareness  

• “almost all our sufferings spring from having to do with other people”.

For the intelligent, solitude has two advantages according to Schopenhauer

• Can be alone with his or her own thoughts,

• Prevents needing to deal with intellectually inferior people.

why do people cling to life according to Schofeur

because they fear death, not because life is pleasant

what did schopenhauer do before freud

Wrote of positive and negative impulses, the unconscious, repression, and resistance before Freud.

existentialism

Stressed the meaning of human existence, freedom of choice, and the uniqueness of each individual.

what did the existentialist believ was the most important aspect of humans

their personal, subjective interpretations of life and the choices they make in light of those interpretations

what did the existentialism emphasize

Emphasized the importance of meaning in one’s life and one’s ability to freely choose that meaning.

what did existentialists believe was the most valid guide for human behavior

personal experience and feelings, like the romantics

who was the first modern existentialist

Kierkegaard

Why was kierkergaard a critic of organized religion

believed the most meaningful relationship with God was one that was personal and not dictated by the church.

truth is (according to kierkegaard)

always what a person believes privately and emotionally

 Truth cannot be taught logically, truth must be experienced.

• Truth is subjectivity—your subjectivity (your truth)

who believes personal freedom occurs in stages

kierkegaard

aesthetic stage

• People are open to many types of experiences, and do not recognize their ability to choose. Most people are in this stage.

• Live on a hedonistic level.

ethical stage

People accept responsibility for making choices but use as their guide ethical principles established by others.

religious stage

• People recognize and accept their freedom and have a personal relationship with God. The nature of the relationship is personal. This is the highest

stage.

• People at this stage see possibilities in life that usually run contrary to convention, and tend to be nonconformists

Who proposed two aspects of human nature and what are they

Nietzche and they are Apollo and Dionysus

What is the Apollo aspect

(rationality; frueds secondary processes

• desire for tranquility, predicitibility, and orderliness

what is the dionysian(barbaric) aspect

similar to id in frued

• irrational side

• attraction to creative chaos and topassionate dynamic experiences

what did nietzsche believe western philosophy had done

had emphasized the intellect

and minimized the human passions

• Result was lifeless rationalism

• Urged a fusion of the two aspects

• Not a totally irrational, passionate life but a life of reasonable passion.

what was n’s his goal

 helping individuals gain control of their powerful,

irrational impulses in order to live more creative, healthy lives. (Pre-

Freud)

what did n say about God

• Believed that because of human actions, we had, in essence, made God “dead.