Prompt Cast
The Origins of Selfishness and Individualism: German Philosophers and the Romantic Movement
TLDR This podcast explores how German philosophers in the 18th century, particularly in Jena, influenced the Romantic movement by using their own lives to explore their philosophy, resulting in a soap opera-like atmosphere with lots of sex and drama. The romantics rejected the Enlightenment idea of the world as a mechanical machine and sought to poeticize the sciences, emphasizing the oneness of the self and nature.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The podcast episode discusses the origins of selfishness and individualism in society, particularly focusing on the influence of German philosophers in the 1790s and their impact on the Romantic movement.
05:37
The podcast discusses how German philosophers in the 18th century used their own lives as a platform to explore their philosophy, resulting in a soap opera-like atmosphere with lots of sex and rock and roll.
10:25
In Jena, a transient place filled with revolutionary minds, there was a lot of sex and drama due to the small and intimate nature of the town, where gossip was impossible to hide and open marriages were common, and the literary superstar Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a key figure in the Jena set.
15:38
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller form a close working relationship and inspire each other's greatest works, while Goethe is invigorated by the radical ideas of the younger generation and becomes their mentor.
20:31
Fichte's revolutionary idea that the self is the supreme ruler of the world, creating our knowledge of the external world, attracts students from all over Europe to study under him in Jena, although his philosophy of freedom also emphasizes moral duty and the balancing act between free will and selfishness.
25:42
The French Revolution brings philosophy out of the ivory tower and into the minds of ordinary people, proving that ideas are more powerful than weapons or monarchs, and the first romantics sought to romanticize the whole world by elevating imagination as the highest faculty of the mind.
30:45
Caroline Michaelis, the wife of August Wilhelm Schlegel, was a remarkable figure who played a central role in the Jena set, not just as a muse but as a participant, creating the physical space for them to work and party, and serving as a razor sharp critic and editor, even translating 16 Shakespeare plays with her husband, though her name was never acknowledged.
35:30
The romantics, including Novalis, rejected the Enlightenment idea of the world as a mechanical machine and sought to poeticize the sciences.
40:19
The romantics believed that the self and nature were one, leading to a philosophy of oneness that became central to romanticism, although they were often divided and fought amongst themselves.
45:08
Hegel arrives towards the end of the group's glory days in Jena, but eventually distances himself from the craziness and philosophy of art and imagination, instead emphasizing the seriousness of philosophy, and his manuscript of "The Phenomenology of Spirit" is saved during the Battle of Jena.
50:02
The Jena set of philosophers end up veering to the right politically and becoming Catholic, setting a prototype for burning radicalism fading into reaction that would be followed in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Categories:
History
