English Romantic poet, literary critic and philosopher (1772 to 1834), co-founder with William Wordsworth of English Romanticism through Lyrical Ballads (1798). Developed an influential distinction between Reason (intuitive, spiritual insight) and Understanding (empirical, discursive reasoning), drawn from German Idealism, chiefly Kant and Schelling. That distinction, set out in Aids to Reflection (1825), reached the American Transcendentalists through the 1829 American edition with James Marsh's introduction, and shaped Ralph Waldo Emerson's own thought directly.
Facts
Notable PublicationAids to Reflection (1825; American edition 1829) 2 TraditionEnglish Romanticism, shaped by German Idealism (Kantian and post-Kantian) 2 Connections
In Branch
Reason versus Understanding is a metaphysical and epistemological distinction as much as a literary one.
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Influenced
Emerson read Aids to Reflection in the 1829 American edition and adopted Coleridge's Reason/Understanding distinction as his own working vocabulary for intuitive versus discursive knowledge.
Source Robert D. Richardson, Emerson: The Mind on Fire (1995)
Works Attributed
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Samuel Taylor Coleridge
WikipediaLead, opening sentenceQuote, Lead, opening sentence
Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( KOH-lÉ™-rij; 21 October 1772-25 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets with his friend William Wordsworth.
2. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.- entry: Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- In Category: Philosophers
- In Branch: Metaphysics
View the Source Robert D. Richardson, Emerson: The Mind on Fire (1995)
Influenced: Ralph Waldo Emerson, discussion of Coleridge's influence on Emerson's early thought
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