The Violence of the Romantic View of Life
In this concluding part of series on the effect of sentimental romanticism on human society, Theodore Dalrymple tells us that the romantic and sentimental view of the most important aspects of human existence are therefore intimately connected to the violence and brutality of daily life, which has almost certainly worsened in Britain over the last sixty years, notwithstanding the immense improvements in levels of physical comfort and well-being. This is an excerpt of the book ‘Spoilt Rotten – The Toxic Cult of Sentimentality’.
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The Romantic View of Human Relations
The triumph of the romantic view of education was doubly disastrous because it coincided with the triumph of the romantic view of human relations, especially family relations. This view goes something like this: the object of human life being happiness, and the fact that many marriages are unhappy being patent and obvious; it is time to found human relationships not upon such extraneous and unromantic bases as social obligation, financial interest, and duty, but upon nothing other than love, affection and inclination. All attempts at stability founded upon anything but love, affection and inclination are inherently oppressive and therefore ought to be discounted. Once relations — especially those between the sexes — were founded upon love alone, the full beauty of the human personality, hitherto obscured by clouds of duty, convention, social shame and the like, would emerge, as a shimmering dragonfly in the summer. This is an excerpt from ‘Spoilt Rotten – The Toxic Cult of Sentimentality’.
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The Sentimental View of Education
In this excerpt, Dalrymple analyzes how the sentimental view of education has ruined the entire system. He quotes Steven Pinker and his influence over British education in the past few years. He tells us how even right ideas can wreak havoc if implemented in wrong domains and with wrong intent. What he gives us is a view of sentimental moralising. This is an excerpt from the book ‘Spoilt Rotten! – The Toxic Cult of Sentimentality’.
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The Romantic Idea of Education
In this article, Theodore Dalrymple the cultural critic discusses how the romantic ideas penetrated or rather invaded educational institutions in the late 19th and early 20th century and how they destroyed the traditional education system which was effective than its substitution. This is an excerpt from ‘Spoilt Rotten – The Toxic Cult of Sentimentality’.
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