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 Reference
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.