The Definition Of 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.

The transcendentalists believed strongly in the power of the individual. Their beliefs are closely linked to romanticism, but they differ from attempts to embrace or at least not oppose scientific empiricism. The transcendentalists wanted to place their religion and philosophy in their principles rather than on, or falsified, physical experiences, but from the inner spiritual or spiritual nature of the human being. The transcendentalists argued that society and its institutions, particularly organized religions and political parties, corrupt the purity of the individual. They believe that people are at their best when it comes to true self-reliance and independence.

With the fact that remained in history, the primary conception of transcendentalism was led by the unitarianism, the reaction to the strict Calvinism, which supported that people should live the spiritual life in terms of a continuing effort to cultivate one’s own spiritual resources. David Robinson explicated it in his article “Transcendentalism”:

The first and most indispensable thought around transcendentalism is self-reliance. This word is rather self-explanatory as it is the ability to depend on one’s self. But, the transcendentalist idea of self-reliance isn’t just being able to act without the authority of another but to think without one as well. Emerson said, “ The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion.” (pg1). To clarify

For someone to be transcendental they have to follow a certain set of beliefs and understand what

American Transcendentalism was an important philosophical and literary movement which placed an emphasis on staying true to one’s beliefs and expressing oneself no matter the situation or consequence. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau fully embraced these beliefs as their influence has allowed these

According to Dictionary.com Transcendentalism is, “any philosophy based upon the doctrine that the principles of reality are to be discovered by the study of the processes of thought, or a philosophy emphasizing the intuitive and spiritual above the empirical”, but that’s only part of what Transcendentalism is. Transcendentalism is standing for One of the first people to write about Transcendentalism were Henry David Thoreau writer of “Resistance to Civil Government” and Ralph Waldo Emerson writer of “Nature” and “Self-Reliance”. Those writers through their writing inspired people like Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi.

The term Transcendentalist describes a group of people who came up with a new approach to solve the conflicts of life. They would look to nature to solve the mysteries of the world and come to know themselves through the use of insight and experience. If these great men were alive today, they would oppose the practice of

Transcendentalism is people who were during Civil War, some of them were struggling to find a religion. Some scriptures were a start of it too. A lot of transcendentalism

The highly religious philosophy of Transcendentalism developed as the response of a group of people who felt that it was unnecessary to practice a religion (and live a life) that was based on fear. The first Transcendentalists set out to create a more liberal way of life that allowed for personal growth, justice and freedom. To truly understand the implications of Transcendentalism and why Transcendentalists believed what they did, one must first look at the root of Transcendentalism, Unitarianism.

Transcendentalism is to understand who oneself is by having confidence, free thought, and self-reliance. It is to isolate themselves from society and find themselves through nature, to find what they want and who they are. They must have self-reliance and leave the people they know, and isolate themselves from society, so they will not be told who they are or who they should be. Going into nature without the luxuries and only the essentials, confidence is imperative. They have to be confident in themselves to know they can survive on their own. Free thought is also crucial because they need to be able to live a simple life and explore new ways to live, while enjoying every second of it and making everything they do meaningful to them. Thoreau

Transcendentalism is the idea that our spirits have deep connection with nature. Our ideas go beyond the natural world as we see it. Transcendentalism is a philosophy about self reliance, and individuality. We are more into nature and our mood is more pictured by Nature. When I think about failures and achievements I can always base it off transcendentalism.

Transcendentalism is a very elaborate word which is used to describe a very simplistic idea, this idea sparked a religious, philosophical, and literary movement. All people, whether it be men or women, have knowledge about themselves and the world around them which in essence ‘transcends’ or goes beyond what they can sense or feel. This immense knowledge arises by way of intuition and not of logic or the senses. A transcendentalist is a person who understands and accepts these ideas and concepts as a way of understanding life, and realizes that action is better than contemplation. Transcendentalism was born in New England in the 1830’s and discovered by the extraordinary philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Transcendentalism is a religion that developed in the late 1820s and early 1830s. Major components of transcendentalism were Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Cullen Bryant, and Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalism has many elements, three of which being that an individual’s intuitive response to something is the correct response, that an individual can understand the world through intuition, and that one should rely on themselves. The songs “Intuition” by John Lennon and “We’re Not Gonna Take It” by Twisted Sister reflect these elements.

Transcendentalism was an American literature movement urging people to look past everyday material life, and reach into their souls to find inner peace with themselves. Transcendentalism originally came from Kantian idealism. This idealism was credited by Immanuel Kant.