Transcendentalism
Why it happened.... 1. In REBELLION of the rigid way of life of Puritanism
Why it happened... 2. Change in LIFESTYLE: development of science and industry- introduction of machine to New England farm
Why it happened... 3. A REJECTION of Realism and Rationalism (the idea that all knowledge comes from scientific fact and reason, not from feelings and emotions). Chemistry Teacher: Quite an unusual class you had today... Keating: ...funny, I never pegged you as a cynic. Chemistry Teacher: I'm not a cynic. A realist.
Why it happened.... 4. The INFLUENCE of the American Revolutionary War 1775-1783
Why it happened... 5. INFLUENCE of other cultures and religions: Hinduism and Buddhism European ideas/Romantic Movement: John Locke- when we are born our minds are a blank slate (a "tabula rasa") and we fill them with knowledge from ourselves, not from facts from science Jean-Jacques Rousseau- men are born good, but man-made institutions make them wicked
Where it happened... 1840-1855 Began in New England around Concord, Massachusetts. Ralph Waldo Emerson thought the Unitarian Church's doctrine and laws were becoming too conservative
Major Beliefs... the importance of the individual Emotion Imagination Intuition= "gut feeling" Still a belief in God, the afterlife, etc. However, the emphasis should be on the here and now, not the past or the future NOT a rejection of God, but a preference to explain the world in terms of the individual DENIAL of Original Sin
Major Beliefs... The human soul is part of The Oversoul (God/universal spirit) to which it and other souls return at death Therefore, every individual is to be respected because everyone has a portion of that Oversoul (God) within them we have to try to strike a balance between being connected to others while still remaining unique and separate. there is a relationship between all things
Major Beliefs we must be self-reliant All knowledge begins with self-knowledge we are evolving thinkers- it is okay to change our minds love of nature
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." -Henry David Thoreau
What it is... Transcendentalism is... A Literary Movement (books and essays) A Philosophy A state of mind a form of spirituality
Transcendentalists wanted to 'rise above' logical reason to find truth What it is.... Transcendentalism: 'Transcend'= to rise above, go beyond the limits of trans= across (transfer, transport) scend= climb (descend, ascend) Transcendentalists wanted to 'rise above' logical reason to find truth
What it is... Transcendentalism- A philosophy of individualism, aimed at the creation of the new American, the self-reliant man, complete and independent.