Romanticism was an era in European history, approximately between 1790 and 1815, and was characterized by a growing interest in the imagination and emotions. This era was different from the Enlightenment, which focused on changes in political ideology, or Neoclassicism, which was more akin to classicism in that rationality and realism are ideal. Romanticism aimed to invoke a change in cultural ideology and, in turn, gave people a kind of freedom to decipher ideas and symbols using their own imagination. Romantic philosophy was strengthened by challenges to neoclassicism during the Enlightenment. Neoclassicism, governed by reason, attempted to establish certain standards in the lives of Europeans. The backlash to the Age of Enlightenment, in which traditions began to be scrutinized in negative ways, also fueled much of the ideals of that period. Romanticism appeared as a sort of continuation of the Age of Enlightenment; not by questioning political ideology but by praising irrationality through the imagination. Considered “the era of sensitivity”, romanticism is well known for the emergence of an approach guided by emotion rather than reason. Expressed for the first time in the Age of Enlightenment by writers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, this era saw a renewed interest in nature and the desire for a return to a “simpler” society. The work of David Hartley introduces the idea of ​​“association”. In his work Observations on Man, His Frame, Duty, and Expectations (1749), Hartley attempted to connect physiology and psychology in order to explain the workings of the mind. He also expressed that morality is learned from experiences and is essential to becoming "capable of sympathy, theopathy and moral sense". Hartley concluded that...... middle of article ......ics in the Age of Romanticism, edited by Darla Crispin, 37-67. Belgium: Leuven University Press, 2009. Watson, JR « Association ". In A Handbook to English Romanticism, edited by Jean Raimond and JR Watson, 14-16. United States: St. Martin's Press, Inc., 1992.———. “Constable, John (1776-1837).” In A Handbook to English Romanticism, edited by Jean Raimond and JR Watson, 80-83. United States: St. Martin's Press, Inc., 1992.———. "Drama." In A Handbook to English Romanticism, edited by Jean Raimond and JR Watson, 95-97. United States: St. Martin's Press, Inc., 1992.———. "Paint." In A Handbook to English Romanticism, edited by Jean Raimond and JR Watson, 199-202. United States: St. Martin's Press, Inc., 1992.———. “Turner, Joseph William Mallord (1775-1851).” In A Handbook to EnglishRomanticism, edited by Jean Raimond and JR Watson, 275-278. United States: St. Martin'sPress, Inc.., 1992.