Transcendentalism In Timeless Classic Literature: Ralph Waldo Emerson

Transcendentalists believe that using their principles, humanity can inch closer and closer to utopia, the perfect society. Transcendentalism, the flawed doctrine, instead leads its adherents on the road to nowhere, and many of the principles fail spectacularly when applied in real life. Transcendentalism is too idealistic to be realistic. Simply put, transcendentalism is wrong. Their ideals are not just incorrect, they are potentially dangerous.

Transcendentalism is a religious, philosophical, literary, and social movement of the nineteenth century. Essentially, this movement was based upon the ideals of the “sixth sense,” nature, and non-conformity, as well as individualism, intuition, idealism, imagination, and inspiration. A few of the works featured in the transcendental unit include Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, Song of Myself by Walt Whitman, and Walden by Ralph Waldo Emerson. The primary focus of this essay is to provide an opinion on a strikingly debatable topic; Whether or not Christopher McCandless, hero of Krakauer’s Into the Wild, was a true transcendentalist. Despite the bold actions of Chris McCandless on his daring Alaskan odyssey, he turned out to be far from a true transcendentalist, failing to meet the definition of transcendentalism, being solely concerned with himself, and acting out of revenge rather than seeking self discovery - nothing more than a childish suicidal rebel.

Transcendentalism was a literary movement in the 19th century that deliberately pushed forth the exploration to define spirituality and nature in a new context. So much as it is to explore, the movement had an undertone of rebellion against current societal circumstances in which writers during this time sought to change not only their environment, but also the reinvention of oneself. Also simultaneously, the Industrial Revolution took place during this time and glorified the economic growth, which sparked an era of new human thinking.

The poem “Song of Myself” contains all the elements that defined “Transcendentalism”. The Transcendental movement is based on the principle that human knowledge could go beyond worlds. “Transcendentalism” originated as a sub-genre of “Romanticism”.

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.

Throughout history, people encounter a stage in their lives where they feel the necessity to assert their independence and challenge their abilities and self-worth. In the book, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, the author shares his understanding and kinship with the main character, Chris McCandless, a young man who thrusts himself into a life of solitude and a harsh environment during his search for meaning to his life. Krakauer depicts himself and McCandless as modern day transcendentalists with an abundance of competency, resourcefulness and skills as naturalists. Although McCandless chose to experience a life of solitude and face the hazards that nature presents, his lack of preparedness prevented him from completing his endeavor successfully.

“Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members” (Emerson 369). From Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance,” the saying explains how society wants every individual to conform to its beliefs and expectations. In addition, our manhood is the capability to have our own opinions and beliefs. Individualism is a major theme of Transcendentalism, which is a part of romanticism and combines not only literature and philosophy, but also religion. Some additional focuses of Transcendentalism are the belief that an Oversoul exists, that the individual is the center of the universe, that one should involve themselves in civil disobedience, and that self reliance is better than dependence. With that, the followers consist of mainly fierce abolitionists. This movement only lasted ten years, but its influences are apparent today. Furthermore, Transcendentalism is represented in the movie Dead Poets Society. It occurs at Welton Academy, an all boys school, when a new teacher, Mr. John Keating, takes the place of the retired English teacher. He is witty, heartwarming, and inspirational, and has many unorthodox teaching methods compared to the other teachers but the administration is not happy with him. Mr. Keating assists his students, especially Neil Perry, a boy who values independence and leadership, with the pressures of life and school. He encourages them to pursue their true dreams, not their parent’s dreams for them, and to seize the day. The

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.

During the early 1900s a new era of warfare emerged as governments began to employ all economic, technological and psychological resources available to defeat their enemies. This concept of Total War altered the direction of humanity and governments understanding in their allocation of resources. This essay will examine the relationship between propaganda used during World War I, its effect on the masses and the absolutely essential need for the success of such campaigns in obtaining military victory. While leaflet propaganda used during the war will be the main focus, considerations will be given to other forms to illuminate the necessity of understanding and utilizing the tools of this very powerful

“If a person wished to know what transcendentalism was he should empty his mind of everything coming from tradition and the rest would be transcendentalism” (Boller 34). This literary period has dramatically shaped literature and religion, in America. Many writers like Henry David Thoreau and Emily Dickinson have been influence by transcendental ideas. It is astonishing how an inspiring literature movement can change so much of the world’s view and still is around today.

One of the themes that is frequently seen on transcendentalism poems and essays is individuality. Following one’s intuition and doing what is true to you is something that the writers of transcendentalism try to stress in their writings. In a society where you seem to have to follow the trends and ideas that have been put forth by other people, following your own thoughts even if they do not seem to be what is expected of you is something that is very important to people. Although Transcendentalism was a movement that happened a long time ago, the poems and writings of the transcendentalism authors can still be interpreted into our society.

Transcendentalist has a handful of principals from self-reliance to the thought of technology is harmful.The main tenet throughout the paper will focus on the importance of nature. Transcendentalist views nature as a gateway to the spiritual world, a way to the Omnipower. Henry David Thoreau immersed himself into nature fully “The morning wind forever blows, the poem of creation is uninterrupted; but few are the ears that hear it”(Thoreau II). Thoreau reveals how he has taken the time to observe nature to its fullest extent. He saw nature as a neighbor who was to be respected just as a man would treat another. Ralph Waldo Emerson a great transcendentalist, a mentor to Thoreau. Emerson’s point of view of nature showed how men and nature can become one to uplift themselves from the worldly shackles. Thoreau and Emerson both had a concept that nature was essentials to mankind, one sought out to respect it and the other viewed as a form of release.Nature is important to transcendentalism because it leads to spiritual connection and harmonization.

Fatima Avery Antonio Kalugin PHIL 165 7 October 2014 Immanuel Kant Chapter One Summary In Chapter One of German philosopher Immanuel Kants’ article “Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysics of Morals,” Kant defines his ideas and opinions; specifically on the basic principles good will, what defines it, and the practices of it. He also speaks on morality and the shift from “common-sense knowledge” to morality itself. Kant says that a person’s inner worth is determined by their pure will and good intentions.

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.

Lying is one of the ethics cases that usually happen in our daily life. We know that lying is a one of unethical behaviour that everyone must avoid because it will give harm to a person that has been cheated. The case study that we choose was written by Tim C. Mazur about lying. Based on this case study, Tim C. Mazur was written about Ross Perot's who a politician person that lied about he secretly investigated his presidential campaign volunteers. And according to a philosopher, Immanuel Kant said that lying was always morally wrong. Besides that, second perspective which is virtue ethics that Tim C. Mazur was discuss in this case study also maintains that lying is morally wrong but though less strictly than Immanuel Kant perspective