The Journey With Emerson 's Life

During the nineteenth century, American schools have caused a raise of differences towards the method of educating students. In his essay, “Education”, an influential American thinker and writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson recommends the parents to take in consideration for their children’s lives by creating a better teaching in which the students can learn/imply the basic fundamentals on their strive for success by doing it on their own. Emerson emphasizes his claim by encouraging a teaching method that children use their “naturel” by utilizing paradox, metaphors and analogy.

"In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, - no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, - my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space, - all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball. I am nothing. I see all. The currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God."

In this essay, Ralph Waldo Emerson describes his view of an ideal education. What are its defining characteristics?

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character." This quote is a belief that your beliefs show innermost self. Emerson believes that your thoughts and ideas of the world reflect your true self. I agree that your mental outlook of the world is a representation of your real character. Regardless of whether or not you expressed those thoughts and ideas out loud, they still show your true colors. Opinions are just another way of showing the world who you really are. Your attitude on the certain topics and people, marks your stance on the world and show your true beliefs.

Anastas, Benjamin. “The Foul Reign of Emerson’s ‘Self-Reliance.’” The New York Times, 3 Dec. 2011, www.nytimes.com. This article blames today’s politics and the American joy of instant gratification with the dismissal of outside facts due to the ‘Self- Reliance’ philosophy of Emerson. Stating that the American people can ignore loads of facts if their own experience tells them something different. Benjamin Anastas is an American Novelist, journalist, and book reviewer. He also teaches literature at Bennington College.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” Emerson is a firm believer of maintaining self-reliance and values rather than following the crowd. He also explains that in order to be truly successful in life, a person must make decisions and trust in his or her judgment. In today’s society, teenagers are more likely to not be self-reliant because the teens feel they will be judged for having different beliefs. People today need to realize that they should not conform to be like the rest of the world, they must not depend on the judgment and criticism of others, and people must refuse to travel somewhere in order to forget their personal problems. Through Emerson’s piece, readers are able to

Emerson begins his major work on individualism by declaring the importance of thinking for oneself instead of humbly acquiring someone else’s belief. Emerson says, “To believe that what is true in your private heart is true for all men — that is genius”. The one who scorns personal intuition and, instead, chooses to admit others' opinions lacks the inventive power necessary for strong, fearless individualism. Emerson says, “Trust thyself,” a saying that ties along this initial section of the essay. This simply resembles to believe others' judgments is poor-spirited, with no inspiration or hope. An individual with dignity, exhibits originality and is childish unspoiled by egoistic desires but mature. Emerson currently focuses his attention

“Dance to the beat of your own drummer:'; A piece of advice that I have been told my whole life, and have tried my hardest to follow. The words were taken from Thoreau’s quote, “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.';

Lawrence Kohlberg is known for his theory of moral development developed in 1958. His theory was dependent on the thinking of Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget and American philosopher John Dewey. It consists of three levels of moral reasoning: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional. These levels are based on the degree to which an individual accommodates to the conventional standards of society. Each level aquires two stages that serve as different standards of sophistication in moral reasoning. Overall, Kohlberg affirms that moral development is a process of maturing that emerges from thinking about about moral issues (“Kohlberg’s Moral Development”).

Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in 1803, in Boston Massachusetts, born into a prominent family. When he was just 8 his father passed away and unfortunately financial hardship for the family followed. His father was a Boston Minister 9 generations before him were ministers as well. His mother ran a boarding house to earn money to support the family which consisted of six children .They often had not enough to eat. (Ralph Waldo Emerson Biography.” -Life, Family...) Waldo and his brother Charles had only one overcoat between them. Other kids in school would often mock them, "Whose turn is it to wear the great-coat today?” (Shulman, Frank “Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Ralph Waldo Emerson gave a speech to the men of the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Cambridge University entitled “The American Scholar” in 1837. The speech focused on the main ideas of transcendentalism as well as how different factors in society affect man’s ability to realize that they are their own individuals. Harold Bloom, a well known literary critic who evaluated topics such as the bible and Shakespeare, believed that Emerson’s writing was the template for all future authors. Bloom believed that adversity allows people to have a deeper understanding of the world. However, Emerson focused on the loss of knowledge in the society due to the misunderstanding of younger generations in his time period while Bloom mainly focused on how Emerson's views on individualism and transcendentalism affected all writing whether admitted or not. Harold Bloom was correct in his critique, “Out of Panic, Self Reliance” published in 2008, when he confirmed Ralph Waldo Emerson's view point in his speech “The American Scholar” (1837) stating that overcoming adversity is an essential part to gaining wisdom and forming self- reliance by comparing it to current political events in order to show once again that Ralph Waldo Emerson was very influential to not only authors but to the overall evolution of man’s thoughts.

Emerson opens his essay by seemingly defining “man” as the entire human race. He explains that in people, society finds the best part and makes that the only part. Instead of being every part a person could offer, that person becomes only the most viable pieces, a “monster” in Emerson’s words. He seems to look down onto these people, as if he is in some way better. He looks down onto those not because society made them into this part, but because they accepted it. He says “he [a farmer] sees his bushel and cart, and nothing beyond, and sinks into the farmer instead of Man on the farm”. Emerson’s point here is captivating, how a man is seen for his skill before his person. Useful only for what he provides, not for what he thinks.

In Experience, Ralph Waldo Emerson writes about the human condition shared by all in his uniquely “Emersonian” perspective. Perhaps one of his most effective works is Experience, an essay on a subject of which Emerson had much “experience” and personal grief. To fully appreciate Emerson, the reader must closely analyze his writing, with both its obvious meaning, and the experience with which he’s writing.

In twenty-first century America, everyone wants to be an individual. But is that same individuality only just a mask? Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-nineteenth century. In his speech titled “The American Scholar,” Emerson proposed a plan for Americans to transform into thinkers and doers in the new country. He preached that one must take into account the importance of nature, past, and action when presented with intellectual situations. He believed that it was vital for the contemporaneous society to come together and better itself, and the only way to accomplish this was for each individual to take their distinctive part, and as Emerson would put it, “perform their duty as scholars.” Due to the conformity within society, the ever-growing sense of self-entitlement, and the general apathetic nature that pollutes the nation, Emerson’s plan is not applicable in twenty-first century America.

Ralph Waldo Emerson							I am writing this essay on the beliefs and thoughts of Ralph Waldo Emerson on the subjects of individuality, society, government, technology, and spirituality.