Return of the Gods: Mythology in Romantic Philosophy & Literature with Dr. Owen Ware

The Following video is a special presentation of my series on Classical German Philosophy and Post-Kantian Thought. The title of today's episode is: Return of the Gods: Mythology in Romantic Philosophy & Literature with Dr. Owen Ware (U of T).

In this extra special episode of: The Young Idealist Series, I invited Dr. Owen Ware who is an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. Dr. Ware and I, explore major themes from his brand new book: 'Return of the Gods: Mythology in Romantic Philosophy & Literature,' from Oxford University Press (2025).
"Why was mythology of vital importance for the romantics? What role did mythology play in their philosophical and literary work? And what common sources of influence inspired these writers across Britain and Germany at the turn of the nineteenth century? In this wide-ranging study, Owen Ware argues that the romantics turned to mythology for its potential to transform how we see ourselves, others, and the world. Engaging with authors such as William Blake, Friedrich Schlegel, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Friedrich von Hardenberg (Novalis), and Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ware shows why they believed that neither perception nor reason alone can sustain a vision of the unity of all things. A new mode of cognition is necessary, they claimed, one that revives the poetic origin of mythology and reveals our own mythmaking powers. Return of the Gods investigates the rise of mythology in the British and German traditions and the romantics' practices of reinterpreting old myths and inventing new ones. Their shared aim was nothing less than to elevate the human imagination to higher stages of self-development in which philosophy and poetry, as well as intellect and imagination, form an integrated whole. Far from calling us to return to the past, the romantics' work on mythology points us to a future where we can live in harmony with the personal, social, and natural worlds we inhabit. Owen Ware combines intellectual history with philosophical analysis and literary criticism to offer a bold reflection on why mythology mattered for the romantics--and why it still matters today."

A link to the book can be found here:
https://global.oup.com/academic/produ...

Dr. Owen Ware is an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. Dr. Ware’s areas of research include Kant and Post-Kantian philosophy, German and British Romanticism, and global philosophy (esp. classical Indian philosophy). He has held research fellowships through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany.

Dr. Ware has authored several books, including Fichte’s Moral Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 2020), Kant’s Justification of Ethics (Oxford University Press, 2021), Kant on Freedom (Cambridge University Press, 2023), Indian Philosophy and Yoga in Germany (Routledge, 2024), and Return of the Gods: Mythology in Romantic Philosophy and Literature (Oxford University Press, 2025).

Here is a list of the figures we mention in this video:

Friedrich Schiller
Novalis
Friedrich Schlegel
Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling
William Blake
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
William Wordsworth

Enjoy the Episode!