What is Transcendentalism?

Definitions are hard… When? Where? Who? The 1830’s through the 1860’s. New England, specifically Harvard, Cambridge, and Concord. Who? A collection of intellectuals who were loosely associated with one another.

Definitions are hard… What? Transcendentalism is a difficult word to pronounce and even more difficult to define. Not even Thoreau, a Transcendentalist himself, knew exactly what it was. “The secretary of the Association for the Advancement of Science requests me . . . to fill the blank against certain questions, among which the most important one was what branch of science I was specially interested in . . . I felt that it would be to make myself the laughing-stock of the scientific community to describe to them that branch of science which specially interests me, inasmuch as they do not believe in a science which deals with the higher law. So I was obliged to speak to their condition and describe to them that poor part of me which alone they can understand. The fact is I am a mystic, a transcendentalist, and a natural philosopher to boot. Now that I think of it, I should have told them at once that I was a transcendentalist. That would have been the shortest way of telling them that they would not understand my explanations.”

Definitions are hard… What? Transcendentalism: 1. A movement that describes people, men and women equally, who have knowledge about themselves and the world around them that "transcends" or goes beyond what they can see, hear, taste, touch or feel. 2. a religious, philosophical, and literary movement that began to express itself in New England in the 1830s.

The Transcendental Club Who? A collection of intellectuals who were loosely associated with one another through a self-dubbed Transcendental Club (1836-1860). Most notably: Ralph Waldo Emerson – A Harvard educated essayist and scholar who is generally recognized as the first true “American Thinker”. His essay “The American Scholar” urged American citizens to stop looking to Europe for inspiration and imitation. Most famous works are Nature and Society and Solitude

The Transcendental Club Most notably: Henry David Thoreau – Emerson’s protégé who attempted to put Emerson’s ideas into practice. A poet, author, philosopher, and Renaissance Man. Most famous works are Walden and “Civil Disobedience”

The Transcendental Club Most notably: Walt Whitman – A poet, essayist, and journalist who straddles the line between Realism and Transcendentalism. Was viewed as particularly controversial during his life due to the sexuality portayed in his poetry. Most famous work is Leaves of Grass

Beliefs General Beliefs – Religious Beliefs – Every person deserves to experience a life full of beauty and freedom to do what they please. Abolitionists. Naturalism – the forces of nature play a primary role in the world, including that of humans. Intuition and Imagination are equally as important as the knowledge gained from the senses or logic. Religious Beliefs – Transcendentalists do not belief in a specific God but in relationships between people, forces, and objects. The Over-soul – a spiritual essence or vital force in the universe in which all souls participate and therefore, transcends individual consciousness.