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| The instrument depicted is a microscope from the Enlightenment era which symbolizes the science and reason of nature in that time period. The overgrowth and butterfly represent the inspiring and untamed side of nature from the Romantic period. |
In his Essay on Man, Alexander Pope wrote about the hierarchical assemblage of the universe and proposed that everything has a purpose for its existence. He pitied the people who thought they found something of the divine in nature, saying, “Lo! The poor indian! Whose untutor’d mind sees God in clouds, or hears him in the wind; His soul, proud Science never taught to stray Far as the solar walk, or milky way;”
Nature was a source of understanding and rational inspiration during the Enlightenment. Far from looking for God in clouds, scientists, philosophers, and artists turned to nature to explain the order of things in the world. John Locke contended that all understanding came from the five senses or from rational thought. Jean-Jacques Rousseau held up man’s primitive natural state as the ideal. Isaac Newton, Galileo Galilei and Francis Bacon turned to deep study of nature as the source of answers about the world. They sought to understand nature so they could predict it and control it. From the social contract to calculus, countless world-changing theories and discoveries based on the careful observation of nature emerged during this time.
At the turn of the 19th century, Romanticism developed as a conscious reaction to the intellectualism of the Enlightenment. After all the rationalism and strict methods that ruled the previous era, Romantics sought to feel something again. Instead of examining things through a strictly rational lense, the Romantic era relied on emotion and passion as the vehicles for understanding the world and oneself. There was a resulting shift in emphasis from scientific discovery to the arts, and there was a resulting shift in the way nature was viewed. Ralph Waldo Emerson, a prominent Romantic writer, said that “The first in time and the first in importance of the influences upon the mind is that of nature.” His idea, expressed in the essay On the American Scholar, was reflected in most facets of Romanticism. In art, William Turner laid the foundation for impressionism in his naturalistic paintings in order to place an emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities. Poets such as William Wordsworth and Lord Byron explored the power of nature in such works as I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud and Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Instead of seeking to understand the order of the natural world, Romantics recognized that some things, such as nature, aren’t entirely understandable. Many artists and writers explored the spiritual--not rational--importance of nature through paintings, poetry, and novels. It became seen as a refuge from the urban, polluted civilization, as a way to connect with the divine, and as a source of human joy. As Isaac Newton wrote, “To explain all nature is too difficult a task for any one man or even for any one age.” However differently the Enlightenment and Romantic thinkers, artists, and scientists approached it, nature served as a source of inspiration and movement that defined centuries of innovation and growth.
By: Eliza A, Christy B, Gabe B, Mary B, Kelsi H
At the turn of the 19th century, Romanticism developed as a conscious reaction to the intellectualism of the Enlightenment. After all the rationalism and strict methods that ruled the previous era, Romantics sought to feel something again. Instead of examining things through a strictly rational lense, the Romantic era relied on emotion and passion as the vehicles for understanding the world and oneself. There was a resulting shift in emphasis from scientific discovery to the arts, and there was a resulting shift in the way nature was viewed. Ralph Waldo Emerson, a prominent Romantic writer, said that “The first in time and the first in importance of the influences upon the mind is that of nature.” His idea, expressed in the essay On the American Scholar, was reflected in most facets of Romanticism. In art, William Turner laid the foundation for impressionism in his naturalistic paintings in order to place an emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities. Poets such as William Wordsworth and Lord Byron explored the power of nature in such works as I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud and Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Instead of seeking to understand the order of the natural world, Romantics recognized that some things, such as nature, aren’t entirely understandable. Many artists and writers explored the spiritual--not rational--importance of nature through paintings, poetry, and novels. It became seen as a refuge from the urban, polluted civilization, as a way to connect with the divine, and as a source of human joy. As Isaac Newton wrote, “To explain all nature is too difficult a task for any one man or even for any one age.” However differently the Enlightenment and Romantic thinkers, artists, and scientists approached it, nature served as a source of inspiration and movement that defined centuries of innovation and growth.
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| William Turner ca 1840-50 |
By: Eliza A, Christy B, Gabe B, Mary B, Kelsi H
I like this idea of the humility of the Romantic Period in understanding that some things are too far beyond our understanding and therefore should be appreciated and enjoyed for their own sublime beauty. I feel like that resonates a lot more with me than that of the scientific mind thinking that there has to be a reason for everything because sometimes for me that takes the beauty away from it because, as Romantics might agree, the beauty sometimes lies within the mystery.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you! I am definitely more of a Romantic thinker in the way that I view nature. The scientific and mathematical approaches don't stick with me very well. I see nature as one giant work of art because it is so inspiring and gorgeous! It is very sacred to me.
DeleteYour blog post is fantastically written! The contrast between the "nature" that was observed by Enlightenment thinkers and Romantics is something I have never really thought about. The quote from Alexander Pope at the beginning is very interesting when comparing it to ideas of the Romantic period. Pope mocked all those that found a higher purpose in the beauty of the naturally occuring, but it was that very beauty that inspired all of the Romantics to write or create.
ReplyDeleteAs a scientist this post is really interesting to me--you guys did a really excellent job describing the differences in the way Nature was viewed in these two time periods. I find the extremes of each perspective a little funny though, because to me the search to understand the "mysteries of nature" does not destroy the beauty and divinity at all; it just opens up new areas to be experienced with the same sense of wonder. If anything, understanding the "science" behind nature only deepens one's appreciation: a giant sequoia is unspeakably majestic, but thinking about how it moves 500 gallons of water 300 feet above the ground every day is even more awe-inspiring.
ReplyDeleteI like your point a lot Kaylee (maybe because I'm also in STEM...). I think understanding how things work can make them so much more beautiful and meaningful. At the same time, it's easy to lose the forest for the trees. I've often found myself losing the beauty of a moment or of a place because I'm overly focused on one small piece of what surrounds me.
DeleteAt risk of making this conversation a STEM echo chamber, I agree with the both of you--I think joy and awe is purest and fullest in the delicate balance of moderation. There is a sense of passion in understanding--not just knowing, but in *understanding*--the facets of nature. I always liked rainbows as a kid, but now that I’m older, sometimes I catch myself standing, stunned, at the knowledge that I’m standing at the site of a miracle--when the sun catches just so on a collection of mist, refracting at such uniform angles that from my spot on the earth I can detect a band seven different colors. That my eyes can see color at all. I think science and a sense of self and nature, when balanced, only magnify each other.
DeleteWhat initially drew me to this post in particular was the image and the reason that you chose it. Science being overgrown with nature. A desire to feel overcame the rational thought. And yet somehow both movements found a way to push forward using Nature as an inspiration. Whether to quantify or to imitate. I think the cool thing about comparing the two periods as you've done so here is that you can find similarities.
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