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Full Idea
Romanticism seems to me the greatest single shift in the consciousness of the West that has occurred.
Gist of Idea
Romanticism is the greatest change in the consciousness of the West
Source
Isaiah Berlin (The Roots of Romanticism [1965], Ch.1)
Book Ref
Berlin,Isaiah: 'The Roots of Romanticism' [Pimlico 2000], p.1
A Reaction
Far be it from me to challenge Berlin on such things, but I think that the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century (though acting more slowly and less dramatically than romanticism) may well be more significant in the long run. Ideas filter down.
7662 | Romanticism is the greatest change in the consciousness of the West [Berlin] |
7664 | The Greeks have no notion of obligation or duty [Berlin] |
7663 | Judaism and Christianity views are based on paternal, family and tribal relations [Berlin] |
7665 | Most Enlightenment thinkers believed that virtue consists ultimately in knowledge [Berlin] |
7676 | If we are essentially free wills, authenticity and sincerity are the highest virtues [Berlin] |
7677 | Central to existentialism is the romantic idea that there is nothing to lean on [Berlin] |
7460 | The great moments are the death of Aristotle, Machiavelli, and Romanticism [Berlin, by Watson] |
20544 | Berlin distinguishes 'negative' and 'positive' liberty, and rejects the latter [Berlin, by Swift] |