Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and American Transcendentalism

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary… If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them… – Henry David Thoreau, Walden

What is American Transcendentalism? ↗ Idealistic philosophy, spiritual position, and literary movement that advocates reliance on romantic intuition and moral human conscience ↗ Philo·sophy – a love and search for wisdom ↗ Belief that humans can intuitively transcend the limits of the senses and of logic to a plane of “higher truths” ↗ Value spirituality and direct access to benevolent God ↗ Not an organized religion or ritual – it can be applied to different religions ↗ Divinity of humanity, nature, intellectual pursuits, social justice ↗ Roughly 1830s-1850s

Where does Transcendentalism come from? ↗ Spirit of Revivalism: Transcendentalism is one of many spiritual revivals – from the rise of Unitarian churches that believed in a more human-centered theology (rather than the strict Puritans) ↗ Romanticism: The emphasis on the individual and nature becomes a spiritual connection called the over-soul. ↗ Progressive Era: Reform movements in Boston seek to improve the plight of man (Suffrage, Abolition, Labor, Temperance)

Romanticism Refresher ↗ Reaction against Rationalism and the Enlightenment ↗ In NATURE and CHILDHOOD we see universal, spiritual truths. Nature is the key to self-awareness; if you open yourself to nature, you may receive its gifts: a deeper, more mystical experience of life ↗ Poetry and art cannot be a thing of logic; down with strict rhyming, strict meter, and structure. ↗ Art emphasizes inspiration, spontaneity, and naturalness

The Philosophical Precepts of Transcendentalism ↗ The spiritual unity of all forms of being with God, Humanity and Nature all sharing a universal soul, the Oversoul ↗ The inherent goodness and divinity of Man and Nature ↗ Observations of nature illuminate the nature of human beings. Through understanding the elements of nature, one understands how to rise above the corrupt and mundane struggles of life ↗ Emphasis on self-reliance – achieved through exercising one’s own moral and spiritual strength. The individual is the center of the universe; therefore, all knowledge begins with self-knowledge. ↗ Nonconformity is key; individual should reject society in order to remain true to one’s own sense of self. Society is the source of a corrupting and distracting materialism

Transcendence as Experiencing The Sublime in Nature ↗ Heightened psychological state -- overwhelming experience of awe, reverence, comprehension ↗ Sense of transcendence from everyday world achieved when soul is immersed in grandeur of nature

The Over-Soul or Universal Being ↗ Through self-reliance and a transcendent experience with the sublime in nature, one can reconcile body and soul as a part of the Over-soul or Universal Soul, the source of all life. ↗ Transcendentalists try to form new society based on metaphysical awareness, they want to purify society by purifying hearts and minds ↗ Transcendentalists are lonely explorers or pilgrims outside society and convention

Ralph Waldo Emerson, father of Transcendentalism Poet, essayist, and lecturer, the father of Transcendentalism First expressed his philosophy in his essay, “Nature” (one of his major works) Emerson comes from a line of Unitarian ministers. He breaks with the church after the death of his first wife. He begins to question God and the church, which he feels is too intellectualized, too removed from direct experience of God Banned from Harvard for 40 years following his divinity school address

Henry David Thoreau, practitioner of Transcendentalism Schoolteacher, essayist, poet Most famous for Walden and Civil Disobedience Influenced environmental, civil rights and other countercultural movements Moved to Walden Pond and lived for a year with little contact with society and few creature comforts (Spartan lifestyle) Supported abolition and opposed Fugitive Slave Act Jailed for not paying his taxes in opposition to the war with Mexico (which would add more slave states) Dies at 45 of tuberculosis

Yoda’s a transcendentalist? In what ways might The Force have some ideas in common with the Oversoul?

Yoda’s a transcendentalist? In what ways might The Force have some ideas in common with the Oversoul?

Legacy of Transcendentalism ↗ Influenced American writers: ↗ Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville (anti-transcendentalists!) ↗ Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson ↗ Influenced the idea of civil disobedience ↗ Gandhi’s civil disobedience (Salt Marches) ↗ MLK’s nonviolent resistance (particularly “Letter from the Birmingham Jail”) ↗ Influenced 1960’s countercultural movements ↗ Hippies ↗ Anti-war movement ↗ Black Power movement ↗ Feminism

↗ What is conformity? In what ways and for what reasons do schools promote conformity? How can one be an individual in a conformist society? How does conformity benefit society?

↗ Time and space are awash here Juxtaposition: the act of placing two things (often abstract ideas) side by side for comparison or contrast Example: The juxtaposition of luxury and deprivation in Countee Cullen’s “Saturday’s Child” emphasizes the desperate divide that the hopeless see as impossible to overcome.