Marx's conscious critique of the Romantics did not begin in the Rheinische Zeitung period.During his university years,the encounter between Marx and Romanticism also signified the differences and distinctions in a certain theoretical attitude and position.When Marx entered the academic path,the Romantics was nearing its end.From an ac-ademic perspective,Marx's conscious criticism of romanticism during his university years has been demonstrated in his transition from legal research to philosophical research.The Romantics manifests as romantic emotions,but it does not e-quate to general romantic emotions.During his university years,Marx's romantic emotions,his attention to the re-sources of the Romantics,and a certain degree of affirmation of positive Romanticism did not indicate that Marx was a Romanticist.Marx's idealism in college was the result of the influence of the French Enlightenment rather than the Ger-man Romantics.In fact,Heine's critique of the Romantics influenced Marx since his university years.It was precisely because Marx intended to bid farewell to the personal style of the Romantics and pursue more esoteric ideas that he turned to Hegelian philosophy.During the period of the University of Berlin,criticism of the historical law school was already launched,which is a typical manifestation of Marx's criticism of the Romantics.The hidden theme of Marx's doctoral thesis is the criticism of Romanticism.Marx criticizes the skepticism and mysticism of Romanticism through Epicurus,the ancient Greek enlightenment thinker.The idea of linking young Marx to the Romantic movement was indeed aimed at reviving Spinoza's vitality theory,which was also an effort by the radical theorist at the time to activate the Romantic movement.However,strictly speaking,this was Hessian rather than Marx's path.When Hess attempted to return to the old path of Fichte(and thus a return to the old path of the Romantics),Marx chose to bid farewell,that is,bid farewell to the Romantics,and continue on the path of new materialism.
Marx's university periodRomanticismromantic emotionsenlightenmentradical theoretical tra-dition