Intellectual
Trends of the 19th and 20th Centuries
The 19th century saw new patterns in the thought process of the people. The intellectual developments of the 19th and early 20th century world were largely dominated by the idas and concepts that had their roots in Europe.
Decline of the Enlightenment
By the end of the 18th century, the ideals of the Enlightenment no longer inspired the imagination of a group of philosophers in Europe. Men of letters and artists, too, began to doubt the essential tenets of the Enlightenment. Philosophers began to question whether rationality, scientific temperament, and logical thought of the Enlightenment were really good to mankind.
This skepticism regarding the ideals of the Enlightenment expressed itself in two ways: Romanticism and Idealism. In fact, both these streams of thought had their source in the philosophy of the Enlightenment. Subsequently, these developed into movements affecting political and cultural life, including literature and art. Germany, France, and England were the three regions where the impact of the new thoughts was felt first.
The Romantic Movement in 19th Century Europe Romanticism was the most significant development of the late 18th and early 19th centuries in philosophy, literature and art. It began first as a continuation of, and later as a reaction to the Enlightenment in Europe. Romanticism was a break with the ideals enshrined by the Enlightenment. It was a revolt against classicism in the art and literature of the Enlightenment.
Romanticism emphasized the subjective, the imaginative, the personal, the emotional and the spontaneous.
