Jean Jacques Rousseau s Influence On Western Europe

The 1700s saw the waxing and waning of Enlightenment philosophies and a greater fascination in reason and logic. The individual became supremely important and the idea of selfhood was much debated by philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The idea of the individual also led to greater fascination with culture in many areas in Western Europe, leading to an increase in nationalism. This increase on the emphasis of individual and that individual’s relation to the state led many to begin traveling widely across Europe and record their travels. Though stories of vampires began trickling from Eastern Europe to Western Europe as early as the 1690s, vampires did not gain true traction in Western Europe until the 1700s (Nelson). For less†¦show more content†¦The Romantic era ascribed to the idea of the sublime - an idea that human emotions, all human emotions including horror, fear, and pain, produced an exhilarating thrill. In order to experience the full gamut of human emotion and the resultant high, the Romantics believed people should embrace all emotions, including the dark ones. However, experiencing horror and pain first hand were clearly detrimental, as witnessed with the mass executions of the French Revolution, but viewing these emotions from a removed setting, such as in art, poetry, and literature, allowed people to experience the thrill and complete exhilaration offered by the human experience. Often art and literature of the Romantic era depicted both horror and delight to offer a complete thrill and exploration of the human psyche. Henry Fuseli’s 1781 painting The Nightmare nicely embodies the idea of exploring both horror and sensuality. The subject of the painting is a young woman sleeping. On her chest sits a demon, gazing searchingly at the viewer as a ghostly horse looks on the scene in the background. Fuseli offers a bizarre image that so captivated his contemporaries that he painted several variations on the theme and th e imagery continues to fascinate viewers 200 years later. Instead of cringing in horror at the demon on her chest, the woman’s back is arched sensuously, her arms hanging from her sleeping couch in complete surrender, yetShow MoreRelatedThe Age Of Enlightenment And The Scientific Revolution1675 Words   |  7 Pagesdevelopment, the Age of Enlightenment delivered the greatest influence for the future American society and planted the way for cultural and humanistic enrichment. The Age of the Enlightenment raised new concepts in education, democracy, and human freedom. The new humanistic philosophy promoted the polish of the human intelligence and made education a longing that lasted in the following centuries. 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(Frenz, Horst and Stallknecht, Newton P. pgs 70-73) Romanticism in English literature began in the 1790’s was the publication of Lyrical Ballads written by Willia m Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Cloeridge. Wordsworth’s â€Å"Preface† to the second edition (1800) of Lyrical Ballads, in which he describes poetry as â€Å" the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelingsRead MoreBranches of Philosophy8343 Words   |  34 Pageshistory. In addition, a range of academic subjects have emerged to deal with areas which would have historically been the subject of philosophy. These include psychology, anthropology and science. 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