Transcendentalism was a spiritual, philosophical, literary movement that took place in the Boston area between the 1830s and late 1840s (Buchanan 1).
The main idea was that the “soul of the individual is identical to the soul of the world and that it contains what the world contains,” and that the mind can apprehend absolute spiritual truths directly without having to detour through authorities and senses.
This idea revolved around idealism, which is defined as “any theory positing the primacy of spirit, mind, or language over matter” (Campbell 2-3).
Some have stated that Transcendentalism was a cult or so to say, a rejection of God. In reality, the movement was a preference to explain an individual and the world in terms of this individual. The individual was considered to be the spiritual center of the universe. Though not a cult, transcendentalism has ties to major religions.
From Puritanism we get morality and the doctrine of divine light. From the Quakers, comes the inner light. Then, with Unitarianism there is the belief of the individual, the true source of the moral light (Reuben 2).
Lockean philosophy, which involves all objects of the understanding described to be ideas, and ideas are spoken of as being in the mind, as well as Calvinist beliefs were used to underwrite the belief in Christianity and to focus on science and cognizance (Bickman 2).
Ralph Waldo Emerson explains the name and the idea behind the movement with his profound statement, “It is well known to most of my audience, that the Idealism of the present day acquired the name of Transcendental, from the use of that term by Immanuel Kant, of Konigsberg, who replied to the skeptical philosophy of Locke, which insisted that there was nothing in the intellect which was not previously in the experience of the senses, by showing that there was a very important class of ideas, or imperative forms, which did not come by experience but through which experience was acquired: that these were intuitions of the mind itself; and he denominated them the Transcendental forms. “
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With the Unitarian church, came the optimistic and rationalistic ideas which lead to Transcendentalism. William Ellery Channing, Andrews Norton, and Edward Everett were ministers and philosophers of this time who were tied with the church. They pretty much made the transcendentalists who they were (Bickman 2).
Those who agreed with the ideas of the church and the ideas of Emerson joined a club named, The Transcendental Club. Emerson was the head of it, and Hedge, Francis, Clarke, and Alcott would meet at George Ripley’s house to form this organization.
The organization was formed to exchange the thought of new ideas in philosophy, theology, and literature, but the members never decided to come up with a new form of religion (“Transcendentalism” 333).
The taken philosophical meaning of this organization was that the “man’s practical and imaginative faculties play a part in his apprehension of the truth. ” In the art and literature world was a “creation of works filled with the new passion for nature and common humanity and incarnating a fresh sense of the wonder, promise, and romance of life” (327).
Emerson was an educated man who studied at Harvard.
He was a minister during the time of the Transcendental Club, and when his wife died, he decided to resign since he could not participate in communion. Emerson then decided to write poetic prose, essays with recurring themes (“Emerson” 1).
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He believed that “reason is the highest faculty of the soul? what we mean by the soul itself; it never reasons, never proves, it simply perceives; it is wisdom” (Campbell 4).
With the ideas of oversoul, reason, wisdom, and perception, Emerson wrote what would be the most important essay in his life, Nature (Bickman 4).
The focus of the essay was to describe the nature of life and how we are supposed to live.
The essay helps to distinguish between macrocosm and microcosm, the difference in the world outside of an individual and that of the world inside (Campbell 4).
The introduction expresses how a creature is to interact with God, how nature has no secrets, and how nature is divided between body and soul. After the introduction, Emerson divides the essay into sections titled as “Nature”, “Commodity”, “Beauty”, “Language”, “Discipline”, “Idealism”, “Spirit”, and “Prospects”. Throughout these chapters come this Transcendental / Romantic idea. There are no secrets in this form of intervention. Reality is split into nature and the soul (Steinhart 1).
By going outside and looking at the stars, you can have a direct relation with nature, but your mind must be open.
Emerson mentions, “I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God. ” He explains how open minded a person can be, and how they can connect with the oversoul through this process (2).
Nature is only here to serve for our human needs, so it needs to be used wisely (3).
Nature is also strict truth without ambiguity, and it can be perceived as an incarnation of God (8, 11).
Emerson and other Transcendentalists believe that humans have the mental power and capacity to power over our own bodies (11).
In other words, we control what goes on in our life by using our mind.
And towards the end of the essay, comes the idea that when we are saved and restored, in the end we as beings will have the powers equal to those of God (13).
Emerson was not the only Transcendental writer. Others included Margaret Fuller, Theodore Parker, Jones Very, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, and the original Dr. William Ellery Channing. The closest known to Emerson would have to be Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau also grew up in Massachusetts and while in college studied Emerson’s Nature (“Great? ” 1-2).
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Both Emerson and Thoreau use the images of eyes, vision, and perception to properly demonstrate their transcendentalist beliefs. Transcendentalism is defined as the “idea that our spirits have a deep connection with nature and our ideas transcend to the natural world. ” By using the “transparent eyeball” and other uses of perception of the whole in nature in their works, both authors establish a ...
The essay influenced Thoreau to keep a journal of his philosophies.
The most influential journal published would be Walden (2).
Walden is an autobiography / pastoral / extended familiar essay / literary excursion that pulls the reader into a mythic time that can be related to the present (6).
Overall, the journal explains to the reader why the spiritual discipline is necessary for coming into the presence and possession of the sacred world (7).
Transcendentalism was the living force that seemed to be extinguished as quickly as the flame started. Perry Miller, a professor at Harvard, says “Parker killed himself with overwork, and Thoreau expanded himself; Emerson dissolved into aphasia, Ripley subsided into disillusion, Hedge became a Harvard professor? Brownsun became a catholic, as did Sophia Ripley, and Elizabeth Peabody became a ? character’. ” In the end, Emerson and Thoreau were easily the most well known out of the Transcendentalists.
Emerson’s essays and Thoreau’s Walden seemed to be more popular than the rest of the group (Bickman 4).
The thoughts of the Transcendentalists still live on, but as for the writing, it has pretty much ended. Personally, I highly recommend that everyone should read at least one piece from the Transcendentalism period. The reading is very influential and gets the reader thinking about life and how things fall together. The readings also change the reader’s perception of religion and could bring on an interest in theology. From reading Nature and Walden myself, I became hooked on the thought of the oversoul and the internal light within us. The stories impacted my spiritual being, as well as my mind.
The philosophies of Transcendentalists also make the reader wonder where the thoughts come from and how they derive these thoughts. In all, it is in a way needed that everyone reads some of the Transcendentalists work, just for a change in thought. Works Cited Bickman, Martin. “An Overview of American Transcendentalism. ” Internet. Available: http://www. vcu. edu/engwed/transcendentalism/ideas/definition. html 6 Apr 2004. Campbell, Donna M. “American Transcendentalism. ” Literary Moments. Internet. Available: http://www. gonzaga. edu/faculty/campbell/enl311/amtrans. html 6 Apr 2004. “Ralph Waldo Emerson. ” Internet. Available: http://www. poets. org/poets.
The Term Paper on American Transcendentalism Emerson Thoreau Henry
Henry David American Transcendentalism Transcendentalism Henry David Thoreau and his friendship with Ralph Waldo Emerson helped form the Transcendental movement which, in turn, changed America in the nineteenth century with lasting effects into today s society. The Transcendental period in the nineteenth century was truly unique. It is not considered a religion, a philosophy, or a literary theory, ...
cfm? prmID=205 19 Apr 2004. Great Thinkers of the World. HarperCollins Publishers, 1999. 372. Reuben, Paul P. “Chapter 4: Early Nineteenth Century ? American Transcendentalism: A Brief Introduction. ” PAL: Perspectives in American Literature ? A Research and Reference Guide. Internet. Available: http://www. csustan. edu/english/reuben/pal/chap4/4intro. html 6 Apr 2004. Steinhart, Eric. “Commentary on Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Nature. ” Internet. Available: http://www. wpunj. edu/cohssi/philosophy/COURSES/PHIL218/NATURE. HTM 6 Apr 2004. “Transcendentalism. ” The Cambridge History of American Literature. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1917. 326 – 348.
