Walden: Historical Context

Rationalism (1750-1800) Valued logic and reason Believed the city was a place of civilization and opportunity Focused on science Sparked the Industrial Revolution With the Revolution came cities and poor working conditions

Romanticism (1800-1860) Grew in response to rationalism; The Romantics disagreed with the rationalists. Romantics valued feeling over reason; Imagination was valuable Nature was where one could find truth, beauty and reason. Inspiration was found in supernatural tales and myths. The city was a place of corruption. Concerned with individual freedom Youthful innocence was better than educated sophistication. See poetry as the highest work of the imagination

Transcendentalism (1836-1861) Group led by poet Ralph Waldo Emerson To find truth one must transcend (go beyond) the everyday experiences of the physical world This was the only way to find truth about God, the universe, and oneself. True reality is found in ideas, not the imperfect physical world. Believed humanity could be perfected.

Ralph Waldo Emerson Emerson drew much of this thought from Puritanism. In the Bible God revealed himself through the physical world and nature. This mystical view of the world was passed on to the Romantics and Emerson.

Ralph Waldo Emerson Strongly believed that God is good and works through nature. Emerson’s optimism appealed to many people who lived in a time full of worries – about money, slavery, and future of our nation. Emerson gave them a comforting message. If the world depresses you, look within yourself. The God within will connect you to the peace and beauty of the universe.

Rules of Transcendentalism . The physical world is simply a doorway to the spiritual world People can use intuition to sense God in nature or in their own souls. Your inner soul leads to truth. A person is his or her own best authority.

Rules of Transcendentalism Individual relationships with God were better than anything you could get from the church. The mind is all you need to find knowledge. Feeling and intuition are superior to reason and intellect.

Henry David Thoreau Essayist, poet, philosopher, and activist Best known for his collection of essays titled Walden (1854) Also well known for his essay “Civil Disobedience,” an argument for disobedience to an unjust government He was greatly against the civil war His philosophy of civil disobedience later influenced the political thoughts and actions of Mahatma Gandhi and Marin Luther King, Jr. Most of his writings deal with natural history and philosophy.

Walden: Background Information Collection of essays Published in 1854 Details Thoreau’s experiences over the course of two years in a cabin he built near Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts. By immersing himself in nature, Thoreau hoped to gain a more objective understand of society through personal introspection Simple living and self-sufficiency were his goals. Inspired by transcendental philosophy