Transcendentalism 1840s-1850s Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau
Answer Yes or No 1. You believe that Nature-with-a- capital –N demands the most serious reverence. 2. You believe that everything in Nature strives to realize its inner potential from the smallest plant to the tallest mountain.
Answer Yes or No 3. You believe that intuition is more important than logic. 4. You believe that all knowledge comes from inside- one does not need the past, the family, or society to act as guides to behavior.
Answer Yes or No 5. You believe strongly in a philosophy of individualism and self- reliance. 6. You insist that we follow our instincts wherever they may lead no matter what rules of convention might demand.
Are You a Transcendentalist? If you answered yes to the previous 6 statements…. Than you are a Transcendentalist. Than you are a Transcendentalist.
Transcendentalism Transcendentalism is a movement of thought that took place in America in the mid-1800s. The foundation of Transcendental thought comes from a mixture of German philosophy, ancient Greek philosophy, Asian belief systems, and American Puritan beliefs.
Putting Transcendentalism in Context Before Transcendentalism, American literature did not have much respect throughout the world. Sydney Smith, an English critic, wrote in 1818, “Literature the Americans have none…In the four quarters of the globe, who reads an American book?” Transcendentalism was as much about providing America with a voice of its own as it was in encouraging its individuals to form their own voice as well.
The Transcendentalist Response “We have listened too long to the courtly muses of Europe…The mind of this country, taught to aim at low objects, eats upon itself…We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak with our own minds…A nation of men will for the first time exist, because each believes himself inspired by the Divine Soul which also inspires all men.” Ralph Waldo Emerson 1837
What do you do as a Transcendentalist? American Transcendentalism: Urges people to free themselves of the “quiet desperation’ of their lives. It is a philosophy that asserts the primacy of the spiritual and transcendental over the material and empirical.
What do you do as a Transcendentalist? In order to understand God, the universe, and self you must “transcend,” or go beyond everyday human experience in the physical world. Intuition is an important tool for discovering the truth. The most important idea of transcendentalism was that true reality was not about the physical world but in spiritual understanding.
Key Ideas of Transcendentalism With that, the true reality involved ideas rather than the world as perceived by the senses. Transcendentalists believed in human perfectibility, and they worked to achieve this goal. The way to become more perfect was to seek after and gain a better understanding of God.
Key Ideas of Transcendentalism Everything in the world, including human beings, is a reflection of the Divine Soul. The physical facts of the natural world are a doorway to the spiritual or ideal world. People can use their intuition to behold God’s spirit revealed in nature or in their own souls.
Key Ideas in Transcendentalism Self-reliance and individualism must outweigh external authority and blind conformity to custom and tradition. Spontaneous feelings and intuition are superior to deliberate intellectualism and rationality.
Ralph Waldo Emerson RWE was the best known Transcendental writer and lecturer, making the ideas of Transcendentalism more widely known. Emerson and his ideas appealed to both intellectuals and the general public. He expressed better than any other previous American the advantages of a young country and encouraged letting go of England’s ways of the past.
Henry David Thoreau American essayist, poet, and practical philosopher, renowned for having lived the doctrines of Transcendentalism as recorded in his masterwork, Walden (1854), and for having been a vigorous advocate of civil liberties, as evidenced in the essay “Civil Disobedience” (1849).essayist Transcendentalism
Civil Disobedience Civil is a word that can either refer to something that is befitting of a citizen (like civil liberties) or something that adheres to polite social norms (After their disagreement, the parents of the boy managed to remain civil to one another. What do you think Thoreau meant by Civil Disobedience?
Walden’s Ideals I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and culture merely civil, – to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of society. - “Walking” (Writings) Volume 5, page 205.
Walden’s Ideals I love nature, I love the landscape, because it is so sincere. It never cheats me. It never jests. It is cheerfully, musically earnest. I lie and relie on the earth. - Journal, November 16, 1850
Walden’s Ideals The question is not what you look at, but what you see. - Journal, August 5, 1851
Reminders of Transcendentalism Each man must make the best of his situation as granted to him (by God). Conformity is the opposite of self reliance. Conformity relies on names, categories, and impersonal relationships.
Transcendentalist Reminders Greatness is often misunderstood. Man is happiest when he has accomplished something through his own best hard work, nothing else can take the place of that, especially words or other actions besides that original hard work.