Transcendental Idealism Like Rationalism

It is not possible to be a transcendentalist in today’s world. Transcendentalism is complex way of life that has many requirements despite the broad belief of accepting one’s own views. With so many different beliefs and ways of life present in today’s world, it would be difficult to believe in one’s self. A transcendentalist would only work in today’s society if every person was accepting of everyone else, dedicated to living simply, and followed all the rules with every concept of transcendentalism; something very hard to achieve. Even if everyone achieved this idea, it would no longer be a transcendentalist society anym but would be more of a utopian society where everyone

According to the New York Times, teenagers listen to an average of 2.5 hours of music in a singular day. The messages coming through in each song may vary between drug/alcohol reference or transcendentalism. No matter where there is music, there is a lesson to be learned through ideas that Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau created. Though transcendentalism is a relatively foreign word to most, it can be defined by using five i's: individualism, inspiration, intuition, idealism and imagination which are displayed on all platforms of music today. The different music genres may vary between music from the late 1990's and children's movies today.

In today’s society, it appears that every week the general public is raving about a new app that was released or some newly created piece of technology. Week in and week out magazines and news sources highlight the newest inventions and and must-have items, encouraging the public to rush for the stores to acquire the new big thing. While such a concept is commonplace in today’s society, there was a time when this idea of materialism was a rarity, and, to a certain extent, frowned upon. American Transcendentalism was a religious and philosophical movement during the 1820s and ‘30s, that emphasized the importance and purity of the individual, and argued that society and its institutions corrupted the purity of every individual. Transcendentalism

“Transcendentalism […] has primarily much the position of the sun […] We are conscious of it as of a kind of splendid confusion […] But the circle of the moon is as clear and unmistakable, as recurrent and inevitable, as the circle of Euclid on a blackboard” (Chesterton, 24). These words encapsulate the driving rationale of the anti-transcendentalist argument – that although individuals seek transcendentalism, they can never truly realize it, or, to compare with the sun, see it. Rather, they inevitably place attention on the “moon,” the perspicuous reflection of transcendentalism – that is, individualism – and neglect the responsibilities of society. Emerson institutes the philosophy of transcendentalism in his essay, Nature, teaching that divinity pervades all nature and humanity. Although transcendentalists would offer that man can only better his spiritual life by embracing individualism, pursuing the ideal, and being one with nature, the ability and appeal of transcendentalism to advance enlightenment upon the soul of the individual rests on the false suppositions that feckless man can achieve perfection and that nature embodies God, thus causing transcendentalism to conversely detriment the spiritual life of the individual, isolating him, prescribing his rebellion, and invigorating his selfish pursuits, simply because he confides his soul in creation instead of the Creator (Tocqueville, 482).

Topic/prompt: Based on what you’ve read, argue whether the ideas generated from the Transcendentalist movement are still relevant to today’s world (and if so, how, and if not, why not). You may choose to focus on one of the three thematic categories we’ve discussed (Importance of Self-Reliance, Value of Simplicity, or Illusion of Progress) or you may create your own thematic category but I recommend you narrow your focus.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be." Transcendentalist believed in being independent and self-reliant as well as appreciating nature. Transcendentalism occurred in the 1800s in the United States. Transcendentalist believed that one should not rely on others and should rely solely on themselves. They also believe that nature was important in the world and should not be taken for granted. Artist from 2000 up to now share these common beliefs with transcendentalist. One of these artist is Trisha Yearwood who had the song Real Live Woman. Another artist who has a song that follows their beliefs is Lee Ann Womack. Lee Ann Womack has the song I Hope You Dance which also follows along with the beliefs of transcendentalist. Some of the beliefs that transcendentalist had was believing in independence and they also believed in appreciating nature and everything in it for example Lee Ann Womack sings about nature and what happens in it and Trisha Yearwood in one of her songs sings about the importance of being self-reliant and independent she also talks about social reforms and not doing things that is set up by society.

Transcendentalism Nowadays many people have their opinions on theories and philosophies about life. Many books have been written and published that focuses on the ideas of people in the past and the present. Transcendentalism happens to be one of them. There has been endless writings about this subject. Transcendentalism has played in role in many peoples lives since the early days of philosophy.

The impact that interchangeable parts had on the industrial side of America, as well as the farming side, was really quite tremendous. Maintaining machines and such was much more cost effective because, instead of replacing the whole machine if one part broke, that specific part

Transcendentalism dates all the way back to the 1863, this social movement developed in New england. Transcendentist came after the Puritans, they did not believe the same things the Puritans believed and wanted to stand out and change, this was a religious renewal. Transcendentalism has five main beliefs, people, nature and god all connect, individualism and self reliance,intuition can lead to knowledge, believed people inherently good, celebrate emotions and imagination. A lady Dorothy Ainsworth, is a pure example of the belief of self reliance in transcendentalism. Self reliance is when you depend on yourself and don't rely on other people to get things done for you. Dorothy had been independent, and striving for her goals independently her whole life.

Transcendentalism was a huge cultural movement in the nineteenth century; however, the ideas of the movement still continue to influence our society in the twenty-first century. These ideas of Transcendentalism have continued to exist throughout many years because the ideas remain relevant to society. In fact, the problems that many Transcendentalist writers encountered still happen today in new forms. These similar problems include conformity, the role of government in society, and the importance of nature. In general, people still feel that society needs to better itself for the benefit of all individuals, which is at the heart of Transcendentalism. Some of the ideas that Transcendentalists constantly defended included individualism,

In a constantly updating world, eventually cultural diffusion causes changes to a society 's views and practices over a period of time. With many religious pressures in Europe and the constant switch between Catholicism and Protestantism, a group called the Puritans moved to America to start life anew. The Puritan lifestyle took hold of America’s New England colonies and became a theocracy of how people lived their lives. People lived by the Puritan interpretation of the New Testament with harsh forms of punishment for the violation of even the most simple sins. Because of this restricting lifestyle and new ideas like the Enlightenment which caused intellectual reforms, people started to break away from the extreme Puritan philosophy. Another movement occurring in America called Transcendentalism, on the other side of the spectrum of Puritanism, started with writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, specifically with his essay “Nature”. Emerson depicts the prime example of the breaking away from strict religion to Transcendentalism. In America, Emerson was a priest who had been ridiculed and had traveled to Europe to find himself. After meeting up with writers of the Romanticism movement, he fell in love with it and brought it back to America under the name of Transcendentalism. Puritanism and Transcendentalism have opposing philosophies which include their view on people, philosophy and God , and on nature through essays and texts by: William Bradford, Anne

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.

A city and a forest can be completely different, yet they can be of the closest of similarities. However, transcendentalists believed that the forest is our home and the city is a shamed copy. Transcendentalism started with Ralph Waldo Emerson. It mainly focused primarily upon being different from everyone else and also about how nature is the primary source of life. Being out of the ordinary and looking to nature almost as a "godmother" are some of the main points of transcendentalism. The transcendentalists believed that we should not judge ourselves based upon the ideas of others. Instead, they believed that we should view ourselves primarily through ourselves. They also believed that nature provides life for us, while song artists today

To begin with the question of rationalism versus empiricism, it is important to understand, first, what it is that rationalists argue. This school of thought infers that all knowledge comes from within, an innate source that

Rationalism and empiricism can be related. The two methods only conflict when covering the same subject. Philosophers can be either a rationalist or empiricist but