Transcendentalism
Background: “transcendentalism”
•A response to the Industrial Revolution in 1830’sand 1840’s
•Feared that increasing production in factoriesmeant a decreasing in sense of self.
•Originated by German, Immanuel Kant
•It is not a religion - it is a philosophy or a form ofspirituality
•Centered around Boston and Concord, MA
What did Transcendentalists believe?
The intuitive faculty, instead of the rationalor sensical, became the means for aconscious union of the individual psyche(known in Sanskrit as Atman) with theworld psyche also known as the Oversoul,life-force, prime mover and G-d (known inSanskrit as Brahma).
Basic Premise #1
An individual is the spiritualcenter of the universe, andin an individual can befound the clue to nature,history and, ultimately, thecosmos itself. It is not arejection of the existence ofG-d, but a preference toexplain an individual and theworld in terms of anindividual.
Basic Premise #2
The structure of theuniverse literallyduplicates thestructure of theindividual self—allknowledge, therefore,begins with self-knowledge. This issimilar to Aristotle'sdictum "know thyself."
Basic Premise #3
Transcendentalistsaccepted theconcept of nature asa living mystery, fullof signs; nature issymbolic.
Basic Premise #4
The belief that individual virtue andhappiness depend upon self-realization—this depends upon thereconciliation of two universalpsychological tendencies:
1.The desire to embrace the whole world—to know and become one with the world.
2.The desire to withdraw, remain uniqueand separate—an egotistical existence.
Who were the Transcendentalists?
Ralph Waldo Emerson
•1803-1882
•Unitarian minister
•Poet and essayist
•Founded theTranscendental Club
•Popular lecturer
•Banned from Harvard for40 years following hisDivinity School address
•Supporter of abolitionism
From “Nature”
•LOVING NATURE ISTHE KEY TO THETRANSCENDENTALEXPERIENCE!
•To love nature, wemust retain ourinfancy- children seewith their heart andeyes.
•Adults must react aschildren andspontaneously enjoyit.
From “Nature”
•NATURE BECOMESTHE CATALYSTTHROUGH WHICHHUMANS ACHIEVEUNION WITH GOD
•People need toremove their egos,learning, andprejudices.
•Cannot rely or lookupon the past.
•An epiphany occurs
From “Self Reliance”
•Be original!
•Action is higher thancontemplation! YOUHAVE TO DO TO BE!
•We need to find inourselves the strengthand inspiration to be ourown person, to live ourown lives and not be heldto some standards byothers. INDIVIDUALMIND
•Feeling and intuition aremore important thanreason.
•God gives each of us avocation-Insist onyourself - we are a divineidea
•Don’t conform
•Don’t be afraid to say onething today & anotherthing tomorrow
From “Self Reliance”
•TRUST THYSELF
•Do not conform
•Do not look to the past - itis gone.
•Strive to be great
•2 Obstacles to SelfReliance:
–Conformity
•It turns your life into a lieb/c you are livingaccording to the will ofothers
•Why would you rely onothers’ judgements
–Consistency- “thehobgoblin of little minds:
•being consistent is foolish
•People should not haveone idea and keep itforever
•We must recreateourselves
Henry David Thoreau
•1817-1862
•Schoolteacher, essayist,poet
•Most famous for Waldenand Civil Disobedience
•Influenced environmentalmovement
•Supporter of abolitionism
Walden
•He built his house in thewoods of Walden Pond,near Concord, MA, andlived there in totalsimplicity for two years.
•Ax, wardrobe, $30
•Built 10 X 15 House
–Table, chairs, bed, desk,mirror, cooking supplies
Planted a garden
•Feels people areenslaved by their“supposed needs”
•They become slaves tomaterialism andacquisition.
•Makes people desperate.
•We need basics to learnmore about ourselvesand mankind