Romanticism vs Enlightenment Eras Research Assignment (Essay Sample)

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Introduction
The period of enlightenment also known as the age of reason refers to the period of a movement known as the enlightenment. It is believed that the campaign started at the end of the thirty years of war up to the period of the French revolution. The movement advocated for a reason as the primary means for leading human life. Thus the use of reason was considered a core requirement for meeting the human needs such as governance, religion and the search for the truth. The enlightenment philosophers advocated that through reason humankind could obtain freedom from the oppression of the many unnecessary religious practices and traditions that had caused the demise and suffering many people around the world.
On the other hand, romanticism was a period that was characterized by literary, artistic and cultural which mostly emphasized on emotion, feeling and imagination as the main component of human life. The movement paid considerable attention to individual's emotions and gratification of all elements of nature. The movement advocated for the gaining of experience through an individual's feelings especially during instances of confrontation with new kinds of aesthetic categories. In the Kate Chopin's book, 'The Awakening,' the protagonist becomes aware of the real needs of individuals through her encounter with a man that she falls in love with despite the fact that she was married and had children who looked up to her. The movement advocated for the formation of a quality society and highly praised the community. Obtain their mantra from the revolution that happened in France; they contested for personal liberty and the significance of every individual's rights and freedom around the world for a peaceful co-existence. There were many cases of Destruction of the individual's democracy and rights that resulted from the industrial revolution in Europe. The industrial revolution mainly advocated for the use of mechanization in the push to improve productivity at the expense of the human output. The revolution devalued the contribution of the individuals in the production process, and hence the human beings lacked the real sense of their uniqueness. Together with other romantic philosophers, William Blake argued that human beings only hope of redefining their place in the society remained in nature and said that man had an obligation to fight and protect the environment to build a world that was worth living. Fighting against science and the structure of the society, the romantic philosophers advocated for the significance of life in human existence and the importance of individuals feelings and imagination in coping with the challenges that were present in the world.
Enlightenment literature was in favor of the contemporary philosophical trends and the type of thing that was based on scientific facts; the philosopher of the enlightenment period paid a great focus on the logical and the discourse which was rational as a way of perceiving the world. In favor of the movement of enlightenment, most philosopher of the period dedicated most of their time and resources in opposing the faith-based way of perceiving the world and its functionality.
On the other hand, the romantic movement high resisted the ideology of the enlightenment philosophers. The romantic philosophers argued that morality was mutable instead of the Kantian doctrines of the time. They fought against the enlightenment values that science-based and the effects of the industrial revolution that disregarded the human input in the production process. They fought for the preservation of the human dignity and value in workplaces through arguments based on the real importance of the human beings and nature in the process of life. The romantics were determined to redefine the contribution of individuals in the dynamically changing world while the enlightenment focused on the justifiable constitution of the empirical world. They were determined to conserve the nature as it was regarded the only home for the human race. In Whitman’s poem ‘the Song of Myself’, the significance of the need to conserve nature is greatly stressed. He talks not only for himself but also for all mankind, appreciating the happiness and the wonder that is felt through experiencing the nature.
The romantics' paid close attention to the significance of the emotions of the individual and his imagination in their philosophical works. They valued and highly regarded the ideas of the individual as they viewed him or her as a natural creature that was valuable hence they advocated for the rights and freedoms of the individuals. In Kate Chopin's book ‘The Awakening,' the character of Edna Pontellier brings out the use of individual feelings in the journey of self-recognition. As a married woman, she meets another man who makes her realize the need for real happiness in life. She decides to leave her marriage and the family in search of what corresponded to her heart. In their works, the romantics tried proving the significance of the presence of human even after the industrial revolution. The French revolution advocated for liberty and brotherhood of all men. It is evident in Chopin's literary works that one needs to be free for self-actualization. Edna realized that life was not only being a mother or a wife but the freedom to do what makes one feel like a complete human being.
In contrast, the enlightenment philosophers did not produce much production on the importance of individ...