Romanticism and The Quest for Truth

Presented By Ryan Worth

Can poetry, art, and music convey universal truth? Romanticism is often described as a period which eschewed objective value in favor of pure subjectivity. However, in 1821, Lord Byron, the romantic poet par excellence, wrote, “If the essence of poetry must be a lie, throw it to the dogs, or banish it from your republic, as Plato would have done.” While some postmodern figures such as Paul de Man have deconstructed the romantic quest for meaning and declared it futile, philosophers like Ernst Cassirer have argued that the romantics provided serious arguments for a universal human capacity to understand the truth about ourselves and the world symbolically.

Open to Boston-area university students and young professionals.

Ryan Worth

Ryan Worth is currently a M.A. student studying philosophy at Boston College. He previously attended Brigham Young University, where he received his M.A. and B.A. in comparative literature with an emphasis on Spanish, Italian, and Latin literatures. In his freetime, he enjoys being in the mountains skiing and hiking with his wife Chelsea and their bernedoodle puppy named Benjamin Franklin.