1. Transcendentalism Transcendentalism was an intellectual movement that directly or indirectly affected most of the writers of the New England Renaissance. Its basic assumption is that the intuitive faculty, instead of the rational or sensory, was the means for a conscious union of the individual with the universe. *One must transcend mundane experiences of the physical world.

2. The Role of Nature in Transcendentalism In their quest for understanding, the Transcendentalists focused their attention on the human spirit. The Transcendentalists were also interested in the natural world and its relationship to humanity. They felt that if they explored nature thoroughly, they would come to know themselves and the universal truths better. To them, the human spirit is reflected in nature. According to Emerson, all forms of being---God, nature, and humanity---are spiritually united through a shared universal soul, or Over-Soul.

3. Basic Premises of Transcendentalism  An individual is the spiritual center of the universe— within an individual can be found the clues to nature, history, and ultimately, the cosmos itself. It is not a rejection of the existence of God but an attempt to explain an individual and the world.  The structure of the universe literally duplicates the structure of the individual self---all knowledge, therefore, begins with self-knowledge. This is similar to Aristotle’s dictum, “Know thyself.”

4.  Transcendentalists accepted the conception of nature as a living mystery, full of signs. They believed that nature was symbolic.  Individual virtue and happiness depend upon self- realization, which itself depends upon the reconciliation of two universal psychological tendencies: a.the expansive or self-transcending tendency: a desire to embrace the whole world, to know and become one with the world b.the contracting or self-asserting tendency: the desire to withdraw and to remain unique and separate (ego)

5.  The basic truths of the universe lie beyond the knowledge man obtains via his senses. Through the senses we learn facts and laws of the physical world, but there is another realm of knowledge that goes beyond, or “transcends,” what we hear or see or learn from books. It is through intuition that we come to know this other realm.  Self-reliance & individualism outweigh external authority & conformity.  Spontaneous feelings & intuition are superior to rationality & deliberateness.

6. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) Born in Boston to a cultured, but poor family.  Raised by his grandmother who was a strict Calvinist.  Became a Unitarian minister in 1829, but resigned three years later.

7.  Key intellectual & philosophical voice of the 19 th century.  His writings helped establish the philosophy of individualism– an idea deeply imbedded in American culture  Emerson urges man to live fully, to behold God and nature in the present, not the past.  He cautions that society does not strengthen the individual but breeds conformity.

8. Works Cited “The American Experience.” Prentice Hall Literature. NJ: Englewood Cliffs, 1991. “Lectures.” American Lit and Composition. East Side High School. 2-8-04. http://dpsteph.home.mindspring.com/lectures.htm