1. Transcendentalism Going Beyond Reason In Other Words:
“I went into the woods because I wanted to live with purpose, to face only the important facts of life.; so that I could learn what it had to teach me, and not come to realize in death, that I had not lived.”

2. What does it mean?
Transcendentalism was a rebirth of the intellectual and artistic side of American life, and the spiritual connection to nature.
The Transcendentalists stood at the heart of The American Renaissance-- the flowering of our nation's thought in literature, poetry, painting, sculpture, architecture, and music in the period roughly designated from

3. Philosophical Development
The term Transcendentalism was derived from the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, who called "all knowledge is transcendental which is concerned not with objects but with our mode of knowing objects.“
The roots of the American philosophy ran deep into German and English Romanticism

4. Tenets of Transcendentalism
Transcendentalists believe all men are born good, not evil.
They believe in idealism and intellectualism
Like the Romantics, they believe in individualism and living life freely
They believe in self-reliance, spiritual progress and social justice
They also believe in a simple lifestyle, free of the unnecessary distraction of technology and society

5. Transcendence
To "transcend" society one must first be able to look past and beyond it.
One must follow his instincts and not conform to what society dictates.
Although society will influence an individual towards conformity, it is important to
Secondly, individualism includes being self-reliant. In his essay, “Self-Reliance,” Emerson urges the reader to
remain true to one‘s
self and to one's identity.
"trust thyself."

6. REACTION! REBELLION! This is commonly known as civil disobedience.
 The movement was, in part, a reaction to certain 18th-century rationalist doctrines.
Deism strongly influenced transcendentalism is that both are based on rationalism
The movement involved a rejection of the strict Puritan religious attitudes that were the heritage of New England, where the movement originated.
It also opposed the strict ritualism and dogmatic theology of all established religious institutions.

7. Transcendentalists = Romantics
Transcendentalists were also influenced by Romanticism, but Transcendentalists walk the walk…
self-examination
the celebration of individualism
the extolling of the beauties of nature and humankind
They expressed semi-religious feelings toward nature, as well as the creative process, and saw a direct connection, or correspondence, between the universe and the individual soul.

8. Emerson’s the Over-Soul
The Over-Soul is a spiritual essence or vital force in the universe in which all souls participate and that therefore transcend individual consciousness. All things in the universe are connected, literally, physically and consciously.
Intuition, rather than reason, was regarded as the highest human faculty.
Fulfillment of human potential could be accomplished through mysticism or through an acute awareness of the beauty and truth of the surrounding natural world.

9. The Inner “Spark”
There is an inner "spark" contained by and connecting all facets of nature, including humankind, which can’t be discovered through logical reasoning but only through intuition, the creative insight and interpretation of one's own
Transcendentalists called for an independence from organized religion; they saw no need for any intercession between God and man.
Divinity is self-contained, internalized in every being.
inner voices.

10. Transcendence
To "transcend" society one must first be able to look past and beyond it.
One must follow his instincts and not conform to what society dictates.
Although society will influence an individual towards conformity, it is important to
Secondly, individualism includes being self-reliant. In his essay, “Self-Reliance,” Emerson urges the reader to
remain true to one‘s
self and to one's identity.
"trust thyself."

11. Human Potential
Transcendentalism gives credence to the unlimited potential of human ability to connect with both the natural and spiritual world.
The chief aim is to become fully aware not only of what our senses record, but also to recognize the ability of our inner voice—our intuition—to wisely and correctly interpret the sensory input.

12. Ideal Optimists
Transcendentalists were idealistic and optimistic because they believed they could find answers to whatever they were seeking.
All they had to do was learn to read, through their intuition, the external symbols of nature and translate them into spiritual facts.

13. A Movement that goes on…
Transcendentalism dominated the thinking of the American Renaissance, and its resonances reverberated through American life well into the 20th and 21st century. Where do we see this today? Have we had any rebellious movements ( civil and non-violent) lately?

14. Notable Transcendentalists
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Henry David Thoreau
Walt Whitman
Margaret Fuller
John Muir
Louisa May Alcott
Amos Bronson Alcott