 Also, it should be noted that while Herder’s philosophy of religion was generally very enlightened and progressive in both his early and his late periods, there was a spell in the middle, the years 1771–6 in Bückeburg, during which he fell into the sort of religious irrationalism (a position that essentially rejects reason and instead bases religious views on belief alone) that is more characteristic of his friend Hamann. This happened as the result of what would today be classified as a mild nervous breakdown (documentable from his correspondence at the time), and should basically be discounted.