It would simply be impossible to argue that I only agree with one way of thinking showcased in this class. Like everyone else, I also favor one form of thinking more than the other, in my case it would be the Enlightenment thinking. I personally believe that despite the many nuances that people differ in their own beliefs, they all stem from universal beliefs, perhaps a better way of phrasing is primal instincts. Throughout the years of scientific advancement that occurred especially in psychology have shown this to be the case. However, these studies have also led me to believe that Romanticism is also an important aspect to the human condition as they move on from their primal needs. For those unfamiliar, this principle comes from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which states that human beings are simple if they lack basic necessities yet evolve to have deeper needs involving more nuanced psychological aspects such as self-actualization.

The process of learning about these separate eras of thinking has resulted in my further understanding of how much of an impact they have on current society, specifically in social movements. Whether it be the environmentalists whose way of thinking can be attributed to both Enlightenment and Romantic thinking. Enlightened as it argues from the perspective of logistics such as the impact of the ecosystem affects humanity as well, while Romantic in that the movement also exists with humanity’s sympathy and aesthetic interest in maintaining the beauty of nature.

The most interesting takeaway from the class as a whole was viewing the different perspectives of these enlightened thinkers as to what they believe is the natural state of mankind. More so how it is that humanity is and should move on from this initial state to a higher form of reasoning that will improve life for all.