How does existentialism differ from romanticism

As I have read about these late 19 th and 20 th century thinkers they appear to me to be an extension of the Romantic Movement of the early 19 th century. The Romantics, as I have described in this blog, were reacting to what they saw as the excessive intellectualism of the European Enlightenment.

They believed that humankind had developed an untenable hubris in relationship to its ability to understand everything. The bottom line of the Enlightenment was an unshakable conviction that the entire universe was understandable and could be understood totally by the human mind. The Romantics felt that the baby had been thrown out with the bath water. They agreed that the universe could be understood much better than we had ever imagined and they saw the limitations of superstition and dogma, yet they wanted to recapture the mystery of life.

They believed that the great religious and spiritual traditions were pointing to an underlying truth and that it simply needed to be rearticulated in a language of nature and growth. The Existentialists similarly reacted against intellectualism, but where the Romantics looked back — well yes, romantically — at a time in the past where we were actually more connected to some fundamental and often transcendental reality, the Existentialist were trying to come to terms with the spiritual bankruptcy that came with the Enlightenment.

The faith that we had in days of old was lost and we had to deal with our spiritual bankruptcy head on. The Existentialists were not necessarily nihilists, although that tendency certainly exists in this bold confrontation with loss of meaning, rather they were trying to find another basis for faith in life.

Both the Romantics and the Existentialists saw that medieval Christianity had provided the bedrock of security that human existence had rested on for centuries. That haven had been undercut by the rationality of the Enlightenment. Both Romantics and Existentialists believed that where the medieval world had provided a unified and integrated synthesis of body and spirit however inaccurate it may have been , science had now cleaved the material and spiritual world asunder.

The Romantics had a tendency to reach backward in an attempt to regain the spirit that they believed had been lost, while the Existentialists called for a stark confrontation with the fact that humanity had grown beyond the old sources of security and must now face the emptiness that lie at the heart of human existence.

Human beings needed to find an alternative foundation for faith that could fuel the human spirit and propel it forward into the unknown future. Who were the existentialists that DID come around to a belief in God during their search for a deeper meaning and greater purpose to life? Hi Anna, Soren Kierkegaard is generally considered the father of existentialism, and he was a devout christian.

I think all great philosophy should be about how we live life. Understanding reality and life is only relevant to anything at all to inform that purpose. I think the Existentialist generally understood that. They concerned theirselves with the existence or non existence of god only as a necessary step to determine how life should be lived. Some decided God did not exist and developed according ethical theories. Some decided God did exist and arived at somewhat different conclusions about the best way … Read more ».

He had his roots in Christianity and which is the path for an individual responded from a certain history culture finding new meaning individuality. He connects innocence with ignorance, not-knowing what is going to be. I am reading more about the temporal and eternal and it is absolutely worth mentioning. The eternal is the moment that one realizes that one is more than that. Isn't it a matter of choice?

And if I am compelled to be involved, where is the manager—I have something to say about this. Is there no manager? To whom shall I make my complaint? Existence precedes essence — This is a reversal of the Aristotlean premise that essence precedes existence, where man is created to fulfill some goal.

Sartrean existentialism argues man exists without purpose, finds himself in the world and defines the meaning of his existence.

Identities are constructed by the individual consciousness only — Sartre argues that no one else, including God if he existed, can choose your "identity" for you. There are no objective standards on which to base values. Condemned to be free — Because our actions and choices are ours and ours alone, we are condemned to be responsible for our free choices.

Existential psychology —initiated by Rollo May and Carl Rogers, both of whom were influenced by Kierkegaard. Anxiety's importance in existentialism makes it a popular topic in psychotherapy. Instead of suppressing anxiety, patients are advised to use it as grounds for change.

By embracing anxiety as inevitable, a person can use it to achieve his or her full potential in life. What is the meaning of life?. Focuses on the condition of human existence, and an individual's emotions, actions, responsibilities, and thoughts, in creating. Romanticism A Movement Across the Arts Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.

Romanticism Romanticism is an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in late 18th century Western Europe. In part a revolt against aristocratic,. Similar presentations. Upload Log in. My presentations Profile Feedback Log out.

Log in. Auth with social network: Registration Forgot your password? Download presentation. Cancel Download. Presentation is loading. Please wait. Copy to clipboard. Presentation on theme: "Romanticism and Existentialism"— Presentation transcript:. Download ppt "Romanticism and Existentialism". Despite its focus on the individual and the freedoms of man….. About project SlidePlayer Terms of Service.

Feedback Privacy Policy Feedback. All rights reserved. To make this website work, we log user data and share it with processors. To use this website, you must agree to our Privacy Policy , including cookie policy.