Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling
Ritter belonged to the German Romantic movement. He was personally acquainted with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Alexander von Humboldt, Johann Gottfried Herder and Clemens Brentano. He was strongly influenced by Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, who was the main philosopher of the "Naturphilosophie" movement. In 1801, Hans Christian Ørsted visited Jena and became his friend. Several of Ritter's researches were later reported by Ørsted, who was also strongly influenced by the philosophical outlook of "Naturphilosophie".