1. Romanticism
Arises in the mid-1700’s with the work of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Reaction against Enlightenment emphasis on rationality and Empiricist, Sensationalist, and Rationalist philosophies
Argued that human emotion, instinct, intuition, and subjective experience were as important or even more important to both understanding human nature and to living the good life.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau ( ): held a generally
positive view of human nature, but argued that our natural
social tendencies are perverted by social conventions. Free
of social constraints human were ‘noble savages’ whose
feelings of empathy, community, and social concern would
guide us to moral behavior
Connection to Humanistic Psychology (Carl Rogers) which emphasized our natural tendency toward positive growth, given the ‘right’ social context
General will vs. individual will: Humans are naturally social animals and possess both a desire to live in harmony with others (GW) and a selfish concern for well-being (IW). The critical role of education and socialization was to expand the GW and minimize the IW. Too often, civilized life does the opposite.

2. Romanticism
Wolfgang von Goethe : Human existence consists of oppositional experiences and forces (health/illness; elation/misery; love/hate, success/failure, etc.). Passionately embracing both oppositional poles leads to growth.
Arthur Schopenhauer Accepted Kantian distinction of noumenal (external) vs. phenomenal (experienced) worlds. Noumenal cannot be fully known, but is manifest in our experience as ‘will to survive,’ which leads to endless cycles of needs – satisfaction seeking – transient pleasure – need again. This is suffering (influence of Eastern Philosophies) and greater intelligence and self-awareness means only greater suffering. Best option: sublimation – redirection of desires to non-survival pursuits (art, intellectual, music, Platonic love, etc.).
Argued for Phenomenological approach to studying human experience, meaning the “whole” subjective experience had to be studied, do not reduce to individual elements. Did studies in perception (contrast effects, color perception), argued for evolutionary view of humans, pre-Darwin.
Anticipated Freudian psychoanalysis with emphasis on repression of survival urges to unconscious mind to break cycle of suffering through more constructive expressions of urges.

3. Existentialism
Emphasized human freedom to chose meaningful paths in life
As with Romantics, viewed subjective experience and feeling as central to moral behavior.
Encouraged the critical examination of subject experience in order gain insight into one’s personality, purpose in life, and morality.
Soren Kierkegaard Truth is experience, cannot be achieved through reason. Institutional dogma inhibits the personal experience necessary for true knowledge, thus knowing God (and therefore what is True and Moral) must be derived through a relationship with God, not through following Church dogma.
Stages of personal freedom. (1) Aesthetic: behavior driven by hedonism, seeking pleasure, avoiding pain, desiring excitement, not boredom, not real freedom. infantile stage. (2) Ethical: Following social or institutional norms, rules of conduct, choosing to be good based on external guidelines. (3) Religious: requires ‘leap of faith’ in God and divine morality. Freely choosing to following divine morality despite desire (1) or social convention (2).

4. Existentialism
Friedrich Nietzsche Argued for hyper-individualism. Personal meaning in life central task for all. Cannot come from religion, science, or even philosophy. Can only come from individual striving for mastery over his condition so as to achieve his/her full potential – the will to power.
Convictions: belief that one has found truth. Societies and conventional moralities provide these to individuals. Source of social conflict. Meaning requires rejecting institutional convictions (such as those from religion). Truth comes from within (connection to Cynics)
Duality of human nature: Apollonian vs. Dionysian. A is ordered, rational, tranquil. D is erotic, chaotic, irrational. It is Dionysian passion that drives the will to power, but without some reasonable control it run off recklessly, unfocussed. Reason gives passion goals and direction, leads to actualization of full potential
Superman: when one achieves mastery over self (directs passions in most effective way, skills, discipline, grit), one becomes SM, controls own destiny, is beyond conventional morality. A Rugged, competent, unafraid individualism.