The Romantic Veil (of Perception): American Transcendentalism and British Romanticism as a Continuation of Lockean Empiricism

Authors

  • Christian Knirsch

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5283/copas.141

Abstract

When it comes to the epistemological basis of British romanticism and American transcendentalism, a traditional approach would certainly refer to Kant’s transcendental philosophy which is commonly considered an antithesis to Locke’s empiricism. A new trend in philosophical research now suggests that romantic theories are an addition to rather than a refutation of empiricism. This essay traces the interdependencies between transcendental thought and empiricism in the writings of Coleridge and Emerson.

Author Biography

Christian Knirsch

Christian Knirsch studied English and American studies, linguistics, business administration, media studies, and sociology at the University of Mannheim and the University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa) on a Baden-Württemberg Scholarship. He worked as a coordinator of the graduate school “Formations of the Global“ at the University of Mannheim. He held a position as visiting lecturer for American Literature at the University of Mannheim and worked as a tutor at the Department of English and American Studies and has been a visiting researcher at York University in Toronto, Canada. Supported by a doctoral scholarship of the Landesgraduiertenförderung Baden-Württemberg (LGF) at the University of Mannheim, he has been working on his dissertation “Der mentale Schleier: Das Schleiersymbol und seine erkenntnis­theoretischen Implikationen in der anglo-amerikanischen Erzählliteratur ab Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts“ since March 2008. At the moment, he is putting the finishing touches to his dissertation and works as a guest lecturer for American Literature at the University of Mannheim.

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How to Cite

Knirsch, Christian. “The Romantic Veil (of Perception): American Transcendentalism and British Romanticism As a Continuation of Lockean Empiricism”. Current Objectives of Postgraduate American Studies, vol. 12, May 2012, doi:10.5283/copas.141.

Issue

Vol. 12 (2011)

Section

Articles

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