1. German Romanticism and Idealism

2. Isaiah Berlin “The Apotheosis of the Romantic Will” The Revolt Against the Myth of an Ideal World ''There was a subject on which I had views. Romanticism. The Romantics made a greater difference to us than anything else since the Renaissance, more than Marx, more than Freud. Until the Romantics came along there was only one answer to any question. Truth was one; error was many. You might not know it, you may be too benighted to find it, but there must be one answer. The Romantics said the same question can have more than one answer. The Romantics were the first to say the answer was not something built into the universe.” ( NY Times. Nov. 7 1997)

3. Romanticism 19th C. movement that served as a reaction to the Enlightenment Literary, artistic movement that also influenced philosophy, politics, and especially the growth of nationalism Roots can be traced to its attack on the philosophes, science, and especially the French Revolution. It was neither exclusively liberal, conservative; religious or secular. Was found in England, France, Germany, and most other European cultures. Romantics emphasized the uniqueness and diversity of man

4. The Disillusionment With the French Revolution William Wordsworth celebrating the French Revolution and its ideals " [...] 'Twas in truth an hour Of universal ferment; mildest men Were agitated; and commotions, strife Of passion and opinion, filled the walls Of peaceful houses with unique sounds. The soil of common life, was, at that time, Too hot to tread upon." (The Prelude, ix, 163-9) "O pleasant exercise of hope and joy! For great were the auxiliars which then stood Upon our side, we who were strong in love! Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, But to be young was very Heaven!" (The Prelude, x, 690-4.) But by early the 19 th C., Wordsworth and others, like Coleridge, turned against the Rev. and its ideals.

5. The Disillusionment With the French Rev Coleridge to Wordsworth: "Those feelings and that grand ideal of Freedom [...] do not belong to men, as a society, nor can possibly be either gratified or realised under any form of human government: but belong to the individual man, so far as he is pure and inflamed with the love and adoration of God in Nature“ (Woods) Wordsworth found a new “ideal” in nature. The end of the second book of The Prelude "[…] if in these times of fear, This melancholy waste of hopes o'erthrown, If, 'mid indifference and apathy And wicked exultation, when good men, On every side fall off we know not how, To selfishness, disguis'd in gentle names Of peace, and quiet, and domestic love, Yet mingled. Not unwittingly, with sneers On visionary minds; if in this time Of dereliction and dismay, I yet Despair not of our nature; but retain A more than Roman confidence, a faith That fails not, in all sorrow my support, The blessing of my life, the gift is yours, Ye mountains! Thine, O Nature !"

6. Move Toward Nature and Romanticism “Wordsworth and Coleridge retreated into the Lake District, seeking safety in complete isolation from the world and all its sinful works. About this time the inner meaning of nature in British art and poetry undergoes a subtle but decisive transformation. Central to this transformation was a change in the representation of nature. In the early poetry of Wordsworth, nature had revolutionary connotations. In The Prelude, nature and freedom went hand in hand, and freedom and revolution were inseparable. There was a wildness about nature that challenged the existing order. Nature appears here as an untamed and elemental force, like revolution itself. But now the poetic presentation of nature became transformed into its opposite. "Liberty" now becomes a synonym for solitude – the solitude of the comfortable middle class person who, having reached retirement age, can retreat to a cosy cottage in the Lake District, from where he can mediate to his heart's content on the beauties of nature and the follies of mankind.” (Woods)

7. Major Characteristics of Romantics Denounced philosophes as heartless and reducing man to machine-like beings The "moral self" was not based on intellectual formulas or universal ideals; rather it was discovered through the human soul. Classical thinkers and their "children" yearned to inhibit man's natural state by burdening him with the quest to use the mind and reason to understand the ethics and values that they felt were universal and standard in all of us. Art served as the outlet for uncovering the human soul and moving from the notion that the individual should live by a prescribed code of ethics; especially liberty and freedom

8. Major Characteristics of Romantics Feelings and imagination were the human essence Feelings and imagination Suffering, martyrdom, defiance against oppressive entities was welcome One should pursue one's goals not because they are universal and prescribed but because they are unique to each man Nature was paramount; not the nature of the deists but the nature that one could see, hear, feel, smell and experience personally and with emotion History was unique to every man; the "historical experience had its own soul and therefore traditions, political institutions, and language was unique to man or groups of men” ( Apotheosis)

9. Art as an Expression of Romanticism Johann Gottfried Herder: Art is not a mirror held up to nature, it is a means of communication, or self-expression for the individual spirit Man is the inhabitant of two worlds-the physical which can be ignored and the spiritual which is in the power of the individual Worldly goods are trivial compared to being true to what really counts---respect for oneself as a free being. To embrace the "empirical-causal treadmill is to falsify what I know to be the truth"--It is to prostitute oneself--to sell out and thus commit the ultimate sin. "I am not here to think, but to be, feel, live!"

10. Poetry as an Expression of Romanticism

11. William Blake--"The Tiger"

12. Art in Romanticism English o J.M.W. Turner J.M.W. Turner o John Constable German o Caspar David Friedrich  Monk By the Sea Monk By the Sea  A Walk At Dusk A Walk At Dusk French o Gericault o Delacroix

13. Music Robert Schumann-- Fantasy Pieces, Op. 73 - II. Lebhaft, leicht Beethoven-- Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57 - II. Andante con moto

14. The Rise of German Romanticism: A Historical Perspective In order to fully understand why this movement occurs, need to briefly examine the history of the 18 th C.,specifically the influence of the French Enlightenment and the so-called “pursuit of the ideal”-the Platonic ideal that all genuine questions should have one true answer and that history is really a rational path toward a single truth What instrument was used to seek and find the truth?----REASON

15. The Rise of German Romanticism: A Historical Perspective But, is it possible for man (as individuals or in a collective) to “find” this perfect ideal; the utopia? More importantly, is it healthy to pursue an ideal? Can man create a rational reorganization of society that would end intellectual confusion and the blind obedience to dogmas and create the happy, virtuous, and harmonious world predicted by Condorcet in 1794; as he was about to face the guillotine of Robespierre’s new France; a France that identifed terror as a virtue of society?.

16. The Rise of German Romanticism: A Historical Perspective Clearly, however, values do clash and liberty and freedom to one individual is not freedom to another. Berlin writes in his essay, “The Pursuit of the Ideal” that “total liberty for wolves is death to the lambs”. The notion of the perfect whole (the utopia) as identified by the French philosophes and pursued by their followers of the French Revolution is therefore, not only an impossibility but, more importantly, dangerous.

17. The Rise of German Romanticism: A Historical Perspective Berlin’s Omelette Metaphor To make such an omelette (the ideal/utopia), there is surely no limit to the number of eggs that should be broken

18. The Rise of German Romanticism: A Historical Perspective Berlin contends that the alternative to the ideal is pluralism—the idea that there are many different ends that men seek and still be fully rational. Each culture (perhaps nationality) has its own values and ideas. Johan Gottfried Herder (1744-1803) believed that every society had its own “center of gravity” which differed from others. The Germans, therefore, were different from the French culturally, linguistically, morally, topographically, and historically. In other words, the ideal that the French sought was not the same as the one the Germans sought.

19. The Rise of German Idealism: Historical Perspective Historically, the Germans had little in common; Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) was especially devastating and promoted the supremacy of the Hohenzollerns in Prussia- Brandenburg.

20. The Rise of German Romanticism: A Historical Perspective Clearly an inferiority complex of the German. What did it mean to be German? What could they offer culturally and intellectually that was comparable to the English, Dutch, Spanish, and especially the French? A true sense of backwardness and humiliation that will evolve into humility, indignation, and eventually hostility. Isaiah Berlin contends that these feelings "sprang from wounded pride" The Germans abhorred the worldly, arrogant, idealistic French and preferred to seek guidance from the inner self and the glory of the German culture (language, traditions).

21. German Idealism: Roots 18th Century German intellectuals yearned to freely express their growing indignation with the French imitators and more specifically, the "stifling atmosphere of German society" found within German aristocracy and their officials (Apotheosis 219) Berlin: "This surge of indignation formed the heart of the movement called Sturm und Drang" ( Storm and Urge)...plays were filled with cries of despair...titanic explosions of rage or hatred, vast destructive passions... unthinkable crimes that dwarf scenes of violence in Elizabethan drama; they celebrate passion, individuality, strength, genius and self expression at any cost... Was a bloody and violent reaction against a grotesque and odious social order." ( 219)

22. The Will and the Hero Kant and His Influence For Kant, the moral worth of each act depended on its being freely chosen by each individual. Though Kant was a rationalist, his contribution to the German Idealistic movement is his willingness to concede that the freedom of will is real. Important to note that Kant's perspective of nature is different from other intellectuals. For Kant, it was nonmoral to think that nature can influence man outside of the individual. As Berlin writes, " total dependence on non-human nature-- heteronomy--was incompatible with choice, freedom, morality" (Apotheosis 217). The view and attitude toward nature thus changes.

23. Kant and the Will Kant, though, isn't Romantic because he believes that the will is really reason in action; the will is free as long as it seeks reason, or in other words, the ability of man to use his will to find the the general rules of morality that bind all men together. The will, therefore, is not vastly different in man if reason (which everyman is capable of) is applied to searching for these universal codes of behavior. When the independent will overtakes the rational man and muddies his notion of reason does this lead to the "sturmerisch mood" (Apotheosis 220) Yet, what Kant does is provide importance to the will and its importance in influencing man's behavior, especially among angry, indignant Germans, who possess the "sturmerisch mood"

24. The Father of German Romanticism: Johan Gottlieb Fichte Thus, the celebration of the will which is free to determine one’s own needs, one’s own aspirations, one’s own questions, one’s own temperament (Apotheosis 216). For Fichte, his belief in things/ideas is validated in his ability to “will it”. “ I do not accept what nature offers me because I must. I believe it because I will.” Acting on the will allows one to understand the world, not contemplating or pondering it. “ I am not determined by the end; the end is determined by me”—the importance of acting and doing

25. The Father of German Romanticism: Johan Gottlieb Fichte Fichte’s Influence Unlike Kant’s will, Fichte views the will as the means for creating the “end”, not discovering the “end”. Fichte’s “end” is not objective or discoverable by constant values; it is unique to each individual and since people are naturally connected through common language, culture, and tradition (Herder) larger connections emerge i.e. the nationnation Values like FREEDOM are, therefore, not discovered but created at two levels: individual and national

26. “The Tree of Knowledge Has Robbed Us of the Tree of Life” Freedom is not something that is part of the perfect ideal; rather it is the impulse to act as one wishes or to create as one wishes. The freedom to express oneself; to create; to challenge; to destroy; to struggle; to act. Ends (the ideal) are not discovered but made and created—The Ideal of the French Revolution and the French Enlightenment is attacked and it is especially attractive to the German

27. “The Tree of Knowledge has Robbed us of the Tree of Life” From here, the the Romantic movement manifests itself in two directions that are not, in any way, exclusive to each other »Art »Political Anthropomorphism

28. “ Where is the Dance before I Have Danced it?” Art as a Romantic Expression Hamman wrote, “ A finished work of art, a systematic treatise are attempts to freeze the flowing stream of life; only fragments, broken glimpses can convey the movement of reality ” (Apotheosis 228) Early German plays and novels are inspired to “expose the concept” of a stable, ideal world as a fraud---protection from the chaos that the contrived bourgeois order has created for us.

29. Friedrich Schiller--The Robber (1781)

30. Schiller A disciple of Kant, Schiller apples the notion of freedom and disconnects it a bit from the concept of reason. Man is "most sublime when he resists the pressure of nature and exhibits 'moral independence of natural laws in a condition of emotional stress'" ( Apotheosis 220) The Robber (1781) o Karl Moor--the tragic character as described in "Apotheosis of the Romantic Will" 221

31. Goethe Eugene Delacroix--Méphistophélès in Faust’s Study 1828

32. The Sorrows of the Young Werther-1774 J.W. von Goethe J.W. von Goethe

33. Caspar David Friedrich Two Men Contemplating the Moon Two Men Contemplating the Moon, ca. 1825–30

34. Caspar David Friedrich, Monk By the Sea (1808)Monk By the Sea

35. Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Piano Sonata in A major, D. 959 Second Movement (Andantino) - Alfred Brendel

36. Nationalism According to Berlin, nationalism begins in the writings of Herder and his conceptions of the Volksgeist and Nationalgeist Herder’s ideas are formulated from his belief that man should belong to a group and that each group is distinct with a unique shape and pattern Tradition and especially language shaped a group’s emotional and physical development, not in the least their ideas Events and experiences characterized the life and activity of the community.

37. Nationalism There was an identifiable pattern in the way communities dressed, walked, wrote, painted. The German of the late 18 th C. had more in common with the German that lived two centuries earlier than it did with contemporaries in other communities. All these common ideas, artistic themes, etc. were passed down to later generations and cherised as unique For Herder, universalism (French Rev.) drained man of the specific and unique values and ideas that gave communities purpose

38. German Nationalism Berlin: Nationalism is an inflamed condition of the national consciousness which can be tolerant and peaceful..it usually seems to be caused by wounds; a collective humiliation. Three Historical Events Reformation Thirty Years War Napoleonic Wars In Berlin’s view, the Germans suffered from having to live next to proud, happy, and successful neighbors who bullied the Germans and saw the importation of their values and language by the Prussian king, Frederick the Great.

39. German Nationalism The contrast of the provincial “German” values and spirit with those of the universal and ideal values and spirit of the West (France) challenged the Germans to seek comfort and strength in the notion of the free and creative life of the spirit within them through power and the individual will Result: The Germans responded like the “bent twig” of Schiller by lashing back and challenging their inferiority.

40. German Nationalism Blood

41. The Volk The unification of Germany in 1871 proved to be vital to the dynamic of Europe as the newly created German began to upset the balance of power that had lasted since the Napoleonic War. German nationalist viewed the unification as the beginning of the dream to act on the dream of German superiority and the implementation of the German will…The Romantics of the early 19 th C were alive and well

42. The Volk As German nationalism connected with industrialization and the desire to dominate Europe militarily and economically, the German Volk emerged The interest in binding together the German people through their love of their language, culture, traditions, and the fatherland grew into a strong and powerful force. The German spirit and will was now the unyielding and organic force that the Romantics had written so passionately about decades earlier

43. The Volk The volkish thinkers, like their romantic predecessors, believed in their “special destiny and mission. (Perry 361) The “rival”was the new liberalism of the West that was gaining power and strength in the form of constitutional democracy and a renewed sense of individualism A German hero was needed to defeat the vulgarity of the materialistic and rational- scientific outlook of the Wes All Germans were now expected to dig in for the battle

44. Richard Wagner Götterdämmerung-- The Funeral March

45. Blood

46. Iron France Germany Great Brit. U.S. 1870 1.2 1.4 6.0 1.7 1890 2.0 4.7 8.0 9.4 1913 5.2 16.8 10.4 31.5 France Germany Great Britain U.S. 1870 17 33 112 40 1890 26 64 185 143 1913 41 154 292 517 France Germany Great Brit U.S. 187018901913 5.0 18.7 9.0 31.3 Steel Production (in millions of tons) Coal Production (in millions of tons) Iron Ore Production (millions of tons) U.S Great Brit France Germany 1850 23.2 21.0 35.8 35.9 1900 76.0 38.0 39.0 56.4 1910 92.0 42.0 39.6 64.9 Population (in millions)

47. Militarism Germany’s Future “Will it Fit Under One Hat? I believe it will come under a Prussian pickelhaube?

48. Nazism

49. The Legacy of the Romantics

50. Works Cited Berger, Marilyn. "Isaiah Berlin, Philosopher and Pluralist is Dead." New York Times 7 Nov. 1997. nytimes.com. 8 Jan 2011 Berlin, Isaiah, “The Apotheosis of the Romantic Will”, The Crooked Timber of Humanity. Henry Hardy, Ed. Princeton Univ. Press: Princeton, NJ. 1990. 207-237. Berlin, Isaiah, “The Bent Twig”,The Crooked Timber of Humanity. Henry Hardy, Ed. Princeton Univ. Press: Princeton, NJ. 1990. 238-261. Perry, Marvin, An Intellectual History of Europe. Houghton Mifflin: Boston. 1992 Woods, Alan, “British poets and the French Revolution. Part Two: Wordsworth and Coleridge: The Death of an Ideal. In Defence of Marxism. http://www.marxist.com/ 11 Jan 2011