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American Transcendentalism The “mind over matter” movement “ It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, always do what you are afraid.

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Presentation on theme: "American Transcendentalism The “mind over matter” movement “ It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, always do what you are afraid."— Presentation transcript:

1 American Transcendentalism The “mind over matter” movement “ It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, always do what you are afraid to do.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

2 The Five Tenets 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. 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.

3 Transcendentali sm A literary movement in the 1830’s that established a clear “American voice.” Emerson first expressed his philosophy in his essay “Nature.” A belief in a higher reality than that achieved by human reasoning. Suggests that every individual is capable of discovering this higher truth through intuition.

4 Unlike Puritans, they saw humans and nature as possessing an innate goodness. “In the faces of men and women, I see God” -Walt Whitman Opposed strict ritualism and dogma of established religion.

5 Characteristics of Transcendentalists: They had a sense of intense individualism and self- reliance They believed in the unity of God and the world They felt the real truths lay outside the experience of the senses, residing instead in the “over-soul—a universal benign omnipresence... A God known to men only in moments of mystic enthusiasm, whose visitations leave them altered, self-reliant and purified of petty aims.”

6 Characteristics of Transcendentalists: They revered nature and its relationship to humanity. They had a philosophy of individualism, simplicity, and passive resistance to injustice. Many maintained a positive, optimistic, or rosy view of life. They focused their attention on the human spirit.

7 Transcendentalism: The Beliefs Believed in living close to nature/importance of nature. Nature is the source of truth and inspiration. Taught the dignity of manual labor Advocated self-trust/ confidence Valued individuality/non- conformity/free thought Advocated self-reliance/ simplicity

8 Believed in Reason and Immanence Reason: higher mental power that enabled human beings; we might call it “conscious.” – Also, sometimes called: Spirit Mind Soul Immanence: the idea that God is present in every human being

9 The first transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson Margaret Fuller Henry David Thoreau Bronson Alcott

10 “Self-reliance” -Emerson “There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation in suicide…” “Trust thyself…” “What I must do is all that concerns me, not what people think…” “…to be great is to be misunderstood”

11 “Nature” Thoreau began “essential” living Built a cabin on land owned to Emerson in Concord, Mass. near Walden Pond Lived alone there for two years studying nature and seeking truth within himself

12 “I went into the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what it has to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

13 “Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.”

14 “Still we live meanly like ants.” “Our life is frittered away by detail.” “Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life?” “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity. I say, let your affairs be as two or three and not a hundred or a thousand.”

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16 Individuality “How deep the ruts of tradition and conformity.”

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18 “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 he hears, however measured or far away.”

19 “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau’s essay urging passive, non-violent resistance to governmental policies to which an individual is morally opposed. Influenced individuals such a Ghandi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Cesar Chavez

20 “[If injustice] is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be the friction to stop the machine.”

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22 The Apple “Think Different” ad (modern Transcendentalism) The one-minute commercial featured black-and-white footage of 17 iconic 20th century personalities. In order of appearance they were: Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Martin Luther King, Jr., Richard Branson, John Lennon (with Yoko Ono), Buckminster Fuller, Thomas Edison, Muhammad Ali, Ted Turner, Maria Callas, Mahatma Gandhi, Amelia Earhart, Alfred Hitchcock, Martha Graham, Jim Henson (with Kermit the Frog), Frank Lloyd Wright and Pablo Picasso. The commercial ends with an image of a young girl opening her closed eyes, as if making a wish. The final clip is taken from the All Around The World version of the "Sweet Lullaby" music video, directed by Tarsem Singh; the young girl is Shaan Sahota, Singh's niece.Albert EinsteinBob DylanMartin Luther King, Jr. Richard BransonJohn LennonYoko OnoBuckminster FullerThomas EdisonMuhammad AliTed TurnerMaria Callas Mahatma GandhiAmelia EarhartAlfred HitchcockMartha GrahamJim HensonKermit the FrogFrank Lloyd WrightPablo PicassoSweet LullabyTarsem Singh

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