Irrationalism and Aestheticism
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Irrationalism and aestheticism were philosophical movements which formed as a cultural reaction against positivism in the early 20th century. These perspectives opposed or de-emphasized the importance of the rationality of human beings. Instead, they concentrated on Kant's "noumenal realm", or the experience of one's own existence.
Part of the movements involved claims that science was inferior to intuition. In this project, art was given an especially high place, as it was considered the gateway to the noumenon. Unfortunately, not all of the public at the time were involved in this movement and only the elite had access to the art (ie. a "Mandarin elitism").
Some of the followers of this idea are Friedrich Nietzsche, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Henri Bergson, and Georges Sorel. Symbolism and existentialism grew out of these schools of thought.
See also
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