The ideas of romanticism emerged as a reaction to the Enlightenment, which marked a shift towards rational thinking and away from emotion. Romanticism was characterized by a belief in the inherent goodness of humans, an emphasis on emotion and intuition, and a focus on the natural world. It also included an emphasis on spontaneity and freedom.
Romanticism grew out of the Enlightenment’s emphasis on reason and science, but it rejected those values in favor of emotion and intuition. For example, while Enlightenment thinkers believed in progress and the perfectibility of humans, romantic thinkers believed in the inherent goodness of humans and the natural world. They also believed that people should be free to pursue their passions without constraint.
Romanticism also rejected many of the ideas associated with the Enlightenment: instead they emphasized emotion over reason; they focused on nature rather than science; they believed that people were inherently good; they didn’t believe that progress would lead to perfection; they believed that there were no universal truths; instead they focused on individual truths; they emphasized feeling over thinking;