By romantic I refer to the more philosophical interpretation, rather than the common use of the word "romance", or "a romantic person." That is, I place a great deal of importance on personal experience, emotion, subjectivity, etc.
At the same time, as a materialist, I've concluded that there is no reason to think there is something "beyond", this world. I think Democritus said it best some 2400 years ago, "Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion." We have, of course, since enhanced our understanding of the physical world, and need to add to atoms concepts such as energy, gravity wells, etc., though these things exist in a very different sense that atoms do.
So, how are these two views reconciled? The romantic would ask: How can I stress the importance of emotion and introspection when, from a materialist point of view, these things are just chemical and electrical processes?
Well, I certainly don't think that emotion is something *more* than a chemical reaction, but the disconnect comes, I think, by a common conception that being "just" a chemical reaction makes something base and unworthy. First, I would remind you that you and I are only here at all due to a countless series of chemical reactions through the billions of years behind us. Why do we need to think there is a greater force behind emotion and subjectivity in order to appreciate and cherish it? The fact that love is chemical does not make it any less a real emotion, or a real part of human history, or of real importance to the happiness and health of the human race.
The materialist might dismiss me as being irrational, or ascribing significance where none exists. I would first reply that I am not making any claims as to the nature of reality that the materialist does not. I am not saying that love exists as a force outside myself, I am not proposing that we are all intertwined by the thread of fate, I am not downplaying the importance of rationality in evaluating claims as to what is, and what is not. All I am saying is that dismissing emotion as secondary to rationality, something to be disdained as inferior, is a mistake. Both rationality and emotion are integral parts of achieving human happiness and cultural progress for our species.
I'm sure I'll go into more detail in the future, but that should serve as a decent outline of my stance.
