Transcendentalism is a philosophy that values the spiritual over the material in the belief that man is essentially good, and should strive to be “transcended” to a higher state of being, fulfilling their potential. The actual way to become transcended though, has being constantly changing, with some claiming the need to be one with nature, while other claimed the need for self-reliance. Despite the idealistic philosophy, becoming transcended is hardly as desirable as it seems, for there are various impracticality in the philosophy that are results of human nature, which accounts for it’s ever changing meaning of transcendentalism as people strive to make it practical.
The first impediment is that men are not completely good, and becoming transcended could only happen to a small portion of the population. Those who are forced to become transcended are irrevocably separated from the rest of humanity, resulting in isolation. It is a fact that humans require companionship with others. The need to belong is build into our psychology, and is in fact the third level of basic human needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, two levels below self-actualization which is equivalent to becoming transcended. Becoming transcended while others are not deprives one of this basic need. This is sharply portrayed in cast away, when Chuck became marooned on the island by himself. His loneliness became so unbearable that he resorted to imagining a volleyball to be a human companion. This caused him to do reckless things in order to save the volleyball. His realization that he was arguing with a volleyball one night also threw him into a rage, highlighting the importance of other people in maintaining a stable mental state. When Chuck returns, he found out that his wife had left him. Becoming transcended results in the loss of loved ones , and thus should be avoided.
The Essay on Majoring in Philosophy
An event was organized in a school for students who were going to attend college soon. Their main aim was to emphasize Major in philosophy. Many experts explained importance of philosophy. There are numerous reasons for choosing this course. In philosophy major, students are taught about how to interpret, imagine, converse, and write well. Philosophy answers many human quires which grouped into ...
There is a need for the material before one can take care of the spiritual. Transcendentalism promotes the spiritual at the expense of the material, which is hardly desirable. While without our physiological needs, there is little point in seeking the spiritual. It is undeniable that a warm cosy house is preferable to a starving in a small log cabin in the middle of winter. Similarly, one needs a certain amount of material processions before looking at the spiritual. In Thoreau’s Walden, Thoreau admittedly had some processions with him in the woods. He had built himself a cabin, was free from debts to begin with, and had an good education. Without the above basic funding, becoming transcended is the last thing one could want. For those living in poverty and with family embarking on an transcendental journey is an luxury they cannot afford. The Fields in Baker farm embodies this fact, for while they wish to live like Thoreau, they cannot afford it with their three children to feed, and in the end did not attempt it. In this way, becoming transcended is a dream that one does not wish to actually realise.
There is also the issue that for transcendentalism to be desirable, there must first be a group of already transcended people. In both the Velveteen rabbit and Hope for the flowers, there are already a pool of “transcended” people, the real rabbits and the butterflies that guide the protagonist towards becoming transcended. With the Velveteen rabbit, it was the old rocking horse and the fairy, while it was yellow for stripe. Without them, the transcended would be the odd one outs, the equivalent to a hermit in the mountains. In Chuck’s case in Cast Away, which is the closest to today’s world among the fictions, he was alone, the only one who went through a transcendental experience, resulting in him being left out of the system he was in, feeling alone surrounded by people at the end of the movie.
The Essay on Conveyor Belt Garbage Materials People
There are already ways of getting rid of garbage so people won't have to see it or smell it. For example there is incineration, in which trash that can't be recycled is burned. Although this meets the requirements mentioned above it has a downside. The burning itself causes waste and eventually it will have a bad effect on the environment. Recycling is a good process that reuses materials so they ...
The efforts of the various philosopher, writers and experimenters of transcendentalism deserve to be admired. However, fiction leaves out vital parts of reality. Experimenters find it impossible to stick completely to the transcendental ideal, while writers omit’s the limitation. In the end, while becoming transcended is certainly and ideal worth striving for, the disadvantages in the current world makes it undesirable to be transcended.
