Ralph Waldo Emerson And Transcendentalism

“There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil” -Ralph Waldo Emerson in Self Reliance. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a transcendentalist. Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that originated in the 19th century and was primarily influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalists’ main beliefs are: self-reliance is essential to one’s life, nature is divine, every person should have an optimistic outlook, and humanity needs to adhere to their personal morals and beliefs. In today’s world we still see a multitude of the beliefs of transcendentalism.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “the sky is the daily bread of the eyes.” Emerson was a transcendentalist, transcendentalism came with a deep connection with nature from which this quote seems to be inspired. It can also be inferred that this quote has connections with the lord’s prayer, as Emerson was very religious. The lord’s prayer even states, “give us this day our daily bread” showing that God gave us necessities like food. By restating this in his essays, Emerson connects the sky with the daily food source by its beauty, and that we can feast upon what he believed the Lord had created for us in nature. Personally i am not all that religious and i don’t share the same transcendentalist beliefs with Emerson, but i wholeheartedly agree with his outlook on the sky as a feast of sorts.

Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, central figures of Transcendentalism, expressed their beliefs through works such as “American Scholar” and “Into the Woods” in the nineteenth century. They believed that one must be in simplicity, solitude, and away from technology to appreciate the beauty of nature, which is essential for a better spiritual understanding of oneself. Transcendentalism, which focuses on spiritual interactions with nature, is relevant in today’s hectic life with temptations of materialistic goods and burdens of technology. The retreat that Webb offers every year is a good example of how Transcendentalism shapes students to have spiritual richness and mental strength. On retreats, students go off campus with bare necessities for three days to camp sites in nature to reflect and appreciate the beauty of the outdoors. Viewed through the lens of Transcendentalism, retreats allow students to prepare for a new and busy school year to come by helping them to realize their own goals, to get rid of distractions of technology, to get inspired by nature for a better understanding of themselves, and to enjoy a moment of solitude to truly reflect on the deeper meanings of life.

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds… With consistency a great soul simply has nothing to do.” (Emerson)

nonconformist” (Self-Reliance, 15), he took off the idea and went on to express the bold statement, “Imitation is suicide” (Self-Reliance, 3). David Henry Thoreau has beliefs similar to Emerson on the topic of conformity: “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he

Transcendentalism relates to freedom in several ways. Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau are two transcendentalists that have different views on freedom. Our project, representing freedom, shows a person how to live his or her life in a way of freedom shown by Emerson and Thoreau.

The philosophy of Transcendentalism, according to the article “Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy” is believed to have been created and led by Ralph Waldo Emerson, which is why he is considered by many literary scholars and historians to be the father of Transcendentalism. Throughout the years, this philosophy attracted other artists and thinkers such as the American Romantic novelist Henry David Thoreau. These prominent and poetic individuals created an insight for this movement, believing in the true and significant values of individualism, minimalism, and spirituality in their lives. These specific aspects can be found in Thoreau’s most famous work, and Transcendentalist staple, Walden. This novel was a reminiscence of his life

Nonconformity is someone who does not follow the generally accepted beliefs, customs, or practices. Although it is easy to conform, it is hard to be yourself, “It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude…” (Emerson 11). Emerson stated in his essay that a man must follow their own ideas and not conform to society like everyone else. He also believes that when you are self-sufficient it gives you the freedom to find out who you really are and this is when you become fully independent. When you conform to society you are like everyone else and that can make you happy, but all of the fame and fortunes can make you corrupt. That is why Emerson believes that living a life of nonconformity is best for one’s overall happiness. “Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh” (Emerson 11). As Emerson compares these different philosophers, he explains that although nonconformity creates misunderstandings, it is also what makes you greater and different.

Every day we think about what we do and what others do, what’s right from wrong what we want and what others want we usually forget what we want for our self’s.

In direct disagreement to Henry James’s statement, Ralph Waldo Emerson indeed knew of the evil that exists in the world and thus used transcendentalism as a means of coping mechanisms for aforementioned wickedness. Within the ideas of transcendentalism, there is nothing that explicitly states that there is an extreme lack of darkness or threat in the world. Instead, the movement promoted more effective ways to make oneself happier and successful in life, despite the hardships. These methods include: trusting yourself, self-reliance, non-conformity to society, appreciation of nature, and simplicity. Emerson publically advertised these ideas after experiencing his own tragedy which, most would agree, was a worldly evil in of itself. To relieve

Transcendentalism was a time influenced by romanticism and philosophy. This was a reaction to rationalism and created a more enjoyable reality. One leader of the philosophical movement was Ralph Waldo Emerson, who became well known for challenging traditional ideas. His beliefs included the idea that the present and future are more important than past decisions, and who we are as a person is most important. Emerson's beliefs during transcendentalism are relevant to current society in several ways. Emerson believed in the idea that the actions of a person were more powerful than the words that they spoke. He wrote, "Remember what you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say." This is similar to the modern ideal that actions speak

There have been numerous religious rebellions throughout history, but none quite like that of Transcendentalism. This movement embodies the idea that spiritual growth can be achieved through personal journey instead of conflicting with organized religion. By the time of the movement’s onset, newly gained religious freedom in the United States allowed for new ideas and beliefs to prosper freely. At the heart of this movement was Transcendentalism philosophy famous ambassadors, Ralph Waldo Emerson and apprentice Henry David Thoreau. These men believed nature is what forces us not to depend on other ideas but to develop our own.

In the early 19th century the transcendentalist movement began to take hold in the eastern part of the United States. Ralph Waldo Emerson is considered the ‘father’ of this movement. Emerson had many controversial ideas and wrote about them in essays such as Self-Reliance. One idea of his focused on how the purity of a child’s mind enables him or her to see nature and the world much differently from the way a grown adult sees it. Emerson’s idea is correct because it expresses how, with age, man loses his ability to view the things around him from any perspective other than his own.

Louisa May Alcott and Ralph Waldo Emerson are both completely different people and yet share the same ideals which is transcendentalism. Louisa May Alcott was born November 29, 1832, in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of transcendentalist Amos Bronson Alcott, and her early life was profoundly influenced by Transcendentalism. Throughout her childhood, the family was quite poor but idealistic. In 1843, Alcott, her three sisters, and her parents joined the transcendentalist uprising commune Fruitlands, which she writes about in her essay "Transcendental Wild Oats" (1873). Alcott never left her liberal rising behind and, as an adult, she supported the abolition of slavery and women's suffrage. Still living in poverty, she took

"Why fit in when you were born to stand out" this quote was written by Dr. Suess and is an example of self reliance. In the transcendentalist era the whole idea of transcendentalism was self reliance, and having relationships with nature and spiritual wealth. For example Emerson wrote an essay called Self-Reliance talking about self reliance and people taking care of themselves instead of trusting other people to help. In the transcendentalist era during the 1800's in America, people relied on themselves and had relationships with things besides just people like nature for example. Ralph Waldo Emerson was known as the "Father of Transcendentalism" and wrote essays about individualism, and nature. Another important figure during this era