Transcendentalism
Bell Work
• Grab the sheet of notes on
the “daily handouts” table.
• Sit down and start going
over it (you will be quizzed
on it after the PPT).
Target:
• Students will identify significant
qualities of Transcendentalism-era
authors/works.
• STANDARD: Demonstrate knowledge
of eighteenth-, nineteenth- and earlytwentieth-century foundational works
of American literature
What does
“transcendentalism” mean?
• There is an ideal spiritual state which
“transcends” the physical and empirical.
• A loose collection of eclectic ideas about
literature, philosophy, religion, social
reform, and the general state of American
culture.
• Transcendentalism had different meanings
for each person involved in the movement.
Where did it come from?
• Ralph Waldo Emerson gave German
philosopher Immanuel Kant credit for
popularizing the term “transcendentalism.”
• It began as a reform movement in the Unitarian
church.
• It is not a religion—more accurately, it is a
philosophy or form of spirituality.
• It centered around Boston and Concord, MA. in
the mid-1800’s.
• Emerson first expressed his philosophy of
transcendentalism in his essay Nature.
What did Transcendentalists believe?
The intuitive faculty, instead of the rational
or sensical, became the means for a
conscious union of the individual psyche
(known in Sanskrit as Atman) with the
world psyche also known as the Oversoul,
life-force, prime mover and God (known in
Sanskrit as Brahma).
Basic Premise #1
An individual is the spiritual
center of the universe, and
in an individual can be
found the clue to nature,
history and, ultimately, the
cosmos itself. It is not a
rejection of the existence of
God, but a preference to
explain an individual and the
world in terms of an
individual.
Basic Premise #2
The structure of the
universe literally
duplicates the
structure of the
individual self—all
knowledge, therefore,
begins with selfknowledge. This is
similar to Aristotle's
dictum "know thyself."
Basic Premise #3
Transcendentalists
accepted the
concept of nature as
a living mystery, full
of signs; nature is
symbolic.
Basic Premise #4
The belief that individual virtue and
happiness depend upon selfrealization—this depends upon the
reconciliation of two universal
psychological tendencies:
1. The desire to embrace the whole world—
to know and become one with the world.
2. The desire to withdraw, remain unique
and separate—an egotistical existence.
Who were the Transcendentalists?
•Ralph Waldo Emerson
•Henry David Thoreau
•Margaret Fuller
Ralph Waldo Emerson
•
•
•
•
1803-1882
Unitarian minister
Poet and essayist
Founded the
Transcendental Club
• Popular lecturer
• Banned from Harvard for
40 years following his
Divinity School address
• Supporter of abolitionism
Henry David Thoreau
• 1817-1862
• Schoolteacher, essayist,
poet
• Most famous for Walden
and Civil Disobedience
• Influenced environmental
movement
• Supporter of abolitionism
Margaret Fuller
• 1810-1850
• Journalist, critic,
women’s rights activist
• First editor of The Dial, a
transcendental journal
• First female journalist to
work on a major
newspaper—The New
York Tribune
• Taught at Alcott’s
Temple School
NOW
• Put your notes
away – it’s time for
trashketball.
2 teams
Rotate questions
Right answer =
chance to shoot
Scorekeeper
Winning team =
2 bonus points
Q1
• Name a writer
associated with
transcendentalism (need
first and last name).
Q2
•Name a second writer
associated with
transcendentalism
(need first and last
name).
Q3
•Name a third writer
associated with
transcendentalism
(need first and last
name).
Q4
• To which German
philosopher did Ralph
Waldo Emerson give
credit for popularizing the
term “transcendentalism?”
A4
•Kant
Q5
• True/False?
• “Transcendentalists believed inr ationalism
over intuition.”
A5
• False:
• Intuition over Rationalism
Q6
• What is the missing term?
• The intuitive faculty, instead of the rational
or sensical, became the means for a
conscious union of the individual psyche
(known in Sanskrit as Atman) with the
world psyche also known as the ________,
life-force, prime mover and God (known in
Sanskrit as Brahma).
A6
• What is the missing term?
• The intuitive faculty, instead of the rational
or sensical, became the means for a
conscious union of the individual psyche
(known in Sanskrit as Atman) with the
world psyche also known as the
OVERSOUL, life-force, prime mover and
God (known in Sanskrit as Brahma).
Q7
• Which rule breaker transcendentalist was
banned from Harvard for 40 years following
her/his Divinity school address?
• Thoreau
• Emerson
• Fuller
A7
• Which rule breaker transcendentalist was
banned from Harvard for 40 years following
her/his Divinity school address?
• Thoreau
• EMERSON
• Fuller
Q8
• Which transcendentalist was most famous
for Walden & Civil Disobedience?
• Thoreau
• Emerson
• Fuller
A8
• Which transcendentalist was most famous
for Walden & Civil Disobedience?
• Thoreau
• Emerson
• Fuller
Q9
• Which transcendentalist founded the
Transcendental club?
• Thoreau
• Emerson
• Fuller
A9
• Which transcendentalist founded the
Transcendental club?
• Thoreau
• Emerson
• Fuller
Q10
Which premise was this?
The belief that individual virtue and
happiness depend upon self-realization—this
depends upon the reconciliation of two
universal psychological tendencies:
1.The desire to embrace the whole world—to
know and become one with the world.
2.The desire to withdraw, remain unique and
separate—an egotistical existence.
A10 - #4
Which premise was this?
The belief that individual virtue and
happiness depend upon self-realization—this
depends upon the reconciliation of two
universal psychological tendencies:
1.The desire to embrace the whole world—to
know and become one with the world.
2.The desire to withdraw, remain unique and
separate—an egotistical existence.
Q11
Which premise was this?
The structure of the universe
literally duplicates the structure of
the individual self—all knowledge,
therefore, begins with selfknowledge. This is similar to
Aristotle's dictum "know thyself.”
A11 - #2
Which premise was this?
The structure of the universe
literally duplicates the structure of
the individual self—all knowledge,
therefore, begins with selfknowledge. This is similar to
Aristotle's dictum "know thyself.”
Q12
Fill in the blank:
Transcendentalists accepted
the concept of nature as a
living _______________, full
of signs; nature is symbolic.
A12
Fill in the blank:
Transcendentalists accepted
the concept of nature as a
living MYSTERY, full of signs;
nature is symbolic.
Q13
Fill in the blank:
•[Transcendentalism] is not a
_____________—more
accurately, it is a philosophy
or form of spirituality.
A13
Fill in the blank:
•[Transcendentalism] is not a
RELIGION—more accurately,
it is a philosophy or form of
spirituality.
Q14
Fill in the blank:
•[Transcendentalism] is an
ideal spiritual state which
“_____________________”
the physical and empirical.
A14
Fill in the blank:
•[Transcendentalism] is an
ideal spiritual state which
“TRANSCENDS” the
physical and empirical.
Q15
Fill in the blank:
1.The desire to withdraw,
remain unique and
separate—an
______________________ex
istence.
A15
Fill in the blank:
1.The desire to withdraw,
remain unique and
separate—an EGOTISTICAL
existence.
Q16
Fill in the blanks:
An ________is the spiritual
center of the universe, and in
an ________can be found the
clue to nature, history and,
ultimately, the cosmos itself.
A16
Fill in the blanks:
An “individual” is the spiritual
center of the universe, and in
an “individual” can be found
the clue to nature, history
and, ultimately, the cosmos
itself.
Q17
True or false:
Transcendentalism had
different meanings for those
involved in the movement.
A17
TRUE or false:
Transcendentalism had
different meanings for those
involved in the movement.
Q18
Transcendentalism began
in the mida.1400’s b. 1500’s
c. 1600’s d. 1700’s
e. 1800’s f. 1900’s
A18
Transcendentalism began
in the mida.1400’s b. 1500’s
c. 1600’s d. 1700’s
e. 1800’s f. 1900’s
Q19
Name this transcendentalist:
Editor of The Dial, a
transcendetal journal…also
worked on the New York
Tribune (need first & last
name)
A19
Name this transcendentalist:
Editor of The Dial, a
transcendetal journal…also
worked on the New York
Tribune (A: Margaret Fuller)
Q20
What was so historic about
Margaret Fuller’s position on
the New York Tribune?
A20
What was so historic about
Margaret Fuller’s position on
the New York Tribune?
A: She was the first female
journalist to work on a
major newspaper.
Scorekeeper
•Write down the
winning team’s
names.
HOMEWORK: