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Transcendentalism: Ralph Waldo Emerson Transcendentalism, in philosophy and
nature, is the belief in a higher reality than found in sense experience or in a
higher knowledge than achieved by human reason. Transcendentalism upholds the
goodness of humanity, the glories of nature, and the importance of free
individual expression. In addition, it is maintained that an awareness of
reality, or a sense of truth, is reached through reasoning by intuition.
Transcendentalism also holds that material objects do not have any real
existence of their own. Rather, these objects are diffused aspects of God, the
Over-Soul. In its most usage, transcendentalism refers to a literary and
philosophical movement that developed in the United States in the first half of
the 19th century. Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American intellectual and author,
helped lead the transcendentalist movement, a movement that looked to individual
intuition, rather than the scientific rationalism, as the highest source of
knowledge.
In “Self-Reliance” Emerson expresses his optimistic faith in the
power of the individual achievement and originality. In “Nature” Emerson
considers the over arching need to discover and develop a relationship with
nature and God. Emerson also explains that the human sense of beauty depends on
seeing things in relation to the “perfect whole” in his poem “Each and All.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s transcendentalist beliefs are most evident in his essays,
poems, and speeches. In “Self-Reliance,” “Nature,” and “Each and All,” Emerson
strived to stress his beliefs in individuality, and his strong connection with
nature, beauty, and God. “Self-Reliance” is Emerson’s strongest statement of his
philosophy of individualism. What he is preaching, however, was not selfishness,
but the presence of divine spirit in every individual. Emerson stressed the
importance of being and believing in one’s self and discouraged the copying of
another’s image, “…Insist on yourself; never imitate…” Emerson also reveals the
insignificance of consistency which clutters and clouds the mind, “A foolish
consistency is the hobglobin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and
philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to
do…” (pg. 190) Emerson is ultimately fascinated with the relation of the
individual to the natural world.
In “Nature” he described the feeling of unity
with all beings, as he became “part or parcel of God.” Emerson feels that nature
could take away egoism and repair all problems: “…In the woods we return to
reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life – no disgrace,
no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. Standing on the
bare ground- my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space-
all mean egoism vanishes…” (pg.186) In those sentences Emerson is explaining
that nature is so peaceful that you forget about everything else. That nothing
can come between you and the natural world. No disgrace, no calamity nothing
that nature can repair. Emerson also wrote, “In the tranquil landscape, and
especially in the distant line of the horizon, man beholds somewhat as beautiful
as his own nature,” (pg. 186) meaning that if a man would search deeply enough
within himself he would find something as powerful and beautiful as nature to
God, and felt the more connected one was to their environment and surroundings,
the closer one would be to God. Lastly, Emerson believes that everything is
created somehow fits together, like a puzzle, to from something he called the
“perfect whole.” In “Each in All” Emerson explains that an object was not
beautiful by itself. It needs its surroundings to have beauty and magnificence:
“…The delicate shells lay on the shore; The bubbles of the latest wave Fresh
pearls to their enamel gave, And the bellowing of the savage sea Greeted their
escape to me.
I wiped away the weeds and foam; I fetch my sea-born treasure
home; But the poor unsightly, noisome things Had left their beauty on the shore
With the sun and the sand and the wild uproar.” “Each and All” illustrates a
transformation that Emerson took, changing from a disappointed and cheated young
boy to a man who learns to appreciate the beautiful world in which he lives,
“Again I saw, again I heard, the rolling river, the mourning bird. Beauty
through my senses stole, I yielded myself to the perfect whole.” (Pg. 194-195)
Ralph Waldo Emerson’ s transcendentalism beliefs all were most evident in his
essay’s poems, and speeches. In most famous publications, he expresses his
optimistic faith in the power of the individual, the power of beauty and nature,
and the power of God and human intuition. His awareness and effort that he puts
toward the true meanings in life cause him to become one of the most influential
and respected leaders of the transcendentalist era.
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