Religion and the Problem of Subjectivity in the reception of Early German Romanticism

What is it about?

NB. The Publication misspelled my name. Author: Alexander J. B. Hampton. This examination provides a history of the problematic characterisation of Early German Romanticism (or Frühromantik) as subjectivist, and challenges this characterisation in light of recent scholarship. From its earliest critical reception in the early nineteenth century, the movement suffered from a set of problematic characterisations made by popular philosophical figures. Goethe, Hegel, Heine, Kierkegaard and others all criticised the movement for holding a dangerous subjective egoism. This characterisation remained with the Frühromantik throughout the twentieth century until it was challenged by recent re-evaluations offered by figures such as Dieter Henrich, Manfred Frank, Friedrich Beiser and Andrew Bowie. Their work has opened new possibilities for the re-interpretation of Frühromantik and our understanding of the movement’s religious thought.

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Why is it important?

Romanticism often has so many negative associations. This article looks at the sources of these judgements, and demonstrates how many of them have little to do with Early German Romanticism.