Romanticism, Alexander von Humboldt and the distinction of “Natur” and “Geist” Philosophy of Science in a Forest, 23-25 May 2013 (Amersfoort)

Romanticism is an indefinable movement as F.R. de Toreinx pointed out as early as in 1829. However, Romanticism shares some characteristics with other historical movements such as Classicism or Enlightenment. Some experts claim that these two mentioned movements seem to totally opposed, even though Romanticism could also be seen as an extension of both. Following Arthur O. Lovejoy’s ideas (1948), we can agree that there has not been one single movement called “Romanticism” but several “Romanticisms”, not only among the different European countries, but also within those countries. For example, German Romanticism, which for obvious reasons was the most important one for Humboldt, is often considered as a nationalistic political movement which aimed at the unification of the several German states after the Napoleonic wars. While, on the other hand, there are romantic writers like E.T.A. Hoffmann who were not political at all but focused on the power of “dark” and “fantastic” elements in nature after the Enlightenment’s “disenchantment of the world” (Entzauberung der Welt) as the German sociologist Max Weber famously claimed almost 100 years later.