Romanticism was a culture that countered the Age of Enlightenment. It promoted history, individuality, and nature. Before romantic writings, the world focused on logic and society. Romanticism has allowed people to start appreciating individualism and appeal to emotional responses. This new form of thinking has brought about themes and genres that have not been exploited before even today. The theory of Romanticism allowed people to run away from the harshness of reality into a new world. By establishing a new world, people were encouraged to alter their philosophical thoughts. Focusing on the modern and classical theories of Romanticism, I shall reflect on the influence Romanticism has had on my way of thinking, whether I feel like a Romantic or a Classicist. I shall also give my life experiences to illustrate my philosophical sensibility.
Influence of Romanticism on My Way of Thinking
Romanticism has not only influenced my way of thinking in many ways but also has immensely influenced the modern world. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly since there have been various events in history that have influenced societal thinking today. The society’s focus on liberty, individualism, and desire to take care of nature and thinking about historical events emanates from romanticism (Botton, n.d.) . Romanticism has made me more enthusiastic about feelings and cautious of thought as a life guide. It has made me trust my instinct and not to overthink as it is unfair to think through a decision.
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Romanticism has been wary of instruction and teachings. In Romantics, vital activities should not be taught. Instead, people should be left to reason. This has enabled me to choose for myself and not be misguided by instructions and teachings in natural things. Romantics has taught me the issue of honesty and upholding truths and sensibilities, just like a child, which most of us have lost (Seyhan, 2009) . Romanticism has made me be real and speak my mind as I believe being authentic is essential in my daily activities.
Romanticism has influenced my way of thinking by making me interested in how things might be and make judgments about ideas on how they should ideally be. Romanticism has made me have different thoughts about the state of affairs, such as in leadership and governance (Seyhan, 2009) . My thinking has now been shaped not to believe how things are but how they should be. This is because I think of changing the norm and defining a better future.
Whether I Feel More like A Romantic or a Classicist
Romanticism and Classism exist on different poles in the literary movements. In that, there exists a clear contrast between these two sides. It is difficult to describe myself as a Romantic or a Classicist entirely. This is because the two approaches can exist in me, depending on the setting. Although, if I were to choose a side, I would say I feel more like a Romantic because of the inclination of my thought process to that side. I appreciate art and culture for their sake, and I am not overwhelmed by concepts that I cannot pick or understand well. Also, I value emotions over logic. To me, nature is beautiful in my eyes, and lateral drifts guide my knowledge as well as tending to go with the flow (Botton, n.d.) . However, this does not mean I cannot stand out from the majority as I have values of honesty, which lets me speak my mind.
I believe I am a Romantic because I prefer to seek out adventure and novelty. A Romantic is always expected to believe in passion or intuition as a guide action; thereby, I let things happen spontaneously to me. Most Classists’ value politeness, so they would instead tell lies if it will keep a relationship. This contradicts with my values as I am transparent in expressing my feelings. When approaching issues, I already have a picture of my standard. This makes it possible for me to compare scenarios with my imagination as I believe it is an objective approach to handling issues.
Personal Experiences to Illustrate Philosophical Sensibility
My philosophical sensibility has been explored through the beauty of my language as I like using poetic language in my writings and descriptions; this is echoed in Botton’s video (de Botton, 2015). I use humor a lot, especially in storytelling, as I believe in using my intelligence instead of making fun of others. Imagination is an excellent tool in communication. Thus I apply intelligence in my conversations with no vulgar hence complimenting Romantics in my philosophical sensibility.
Conclusion
Romanticism and Classicalism explain a lot about human beings. They explain how people approach nature, their intuition, and attitudes, among many other aspects of life. People may not conceive themselves to in these terms, but the two categories bring into focus some of the critical details in people’s personalities and help them gain a clearer understanding of the fundamental structures of their enthusiasm and concerns. I have outlined various ways in which Romanticism has influence my life with honesty being one of it. I have given my thoughts on whether I feel more like a Romantic or a Classicist, and I outlined feeling more like a Romantic because of the common characteristics of the approach manifested in my life. However, I categorically outlined I cannot fully identify as a Romantic because my inclination can change depending on the setting. I have also given examples from my life to demonstrate my philosophical stability.
References
Botton, A. (2015). HISTORY OF IDEAS - Romanticism [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=OiRWBI0JTYQ: YouTube.
Botton, A. On Being Romantic or Classical - The Book of Life. Retrieved from https://www.theschooloflife.com/thebookoflife/are-you-romantic-or-classical/
Seyhan, A. (2009). What is Romanticism, and where did it come from?. The Cambridge Companion to German Romanticism , 1-20.
