Before we Begin Class

Please take out your journal entry from
yesterday over one of the discussion questions
regarding Thoreau and Transcendentalism. Be
ready to discuss them.
Trascendentalism,
Emerson, and Thoreau
The history, ideas, and two most
prominent thinkers of a uniquely
American movement
Historical Background

Transcendentalist writers
flourished in the 1830’s to 1840’s,
primarily in New England

During the industrial revolution,
individuals felt unimportant seeing
how easily they could be replaced
by a machine along with the
downplay of an individual’s
importance by the church.

Ralph Waldon Emerson, a pastor at
the time, thought otherwise. He
gave credit to the power of the
human mind, thinking individuals
are the ones that influenced society,
not politics, religions or
organizations.
Historical Background, continued

Many Transcendentalist were strong abolitionists and
opposed the American Civil War. Henry Thoreau, in
protest of war and slavery, wrote Civil Disobedience and
refused to pay taxes. He was imprisoned for not paying
taxes an went to jail for a day.

This display of nonviolent protest inspired many
throughout history including Martian Luther King Jr.
and Mahatma Gandhi.
Philosophical Background
•As thinkers, mankind have always divided into two sects,
Materialists and Idealists;
•In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only
thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of
material and all phenomena (including consciousness) are the
result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only
substance.
•Any philosophy that places importance on the ideal or spiritual
realm in its account of human existence may be termed
"idealist". Metaphysical idealism is an ontology that holds that
reality itself is essentially spirit or consciousness or, at least,
that abstractions and laws are more basic to reality than the
things we perceive. Epistemological idealism is the view that
reality can only be known through ideas, that only
psychological experience can be apprehended by the mind.
Intuition as a Guide Post
The intuitive faculty, instead of the rational or
sensual, 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).
Inspiration of transcendental
philosophy
The ideas for this philosophy come from the Greeks (Plato)
 Writers
Dante, Shakespeare, Milton
World religions
Hindus, Christians
European philosophers
Kant (German)-understanding through intuition
Pascal (French)-mathematician/moralist
Swedenborg (Swedish)-scientist/mystic
European Romantic literature—stressed the break away from
rationality in favor of the emotional components of life; truth is
found in subjective experience

Transcendental Beliefs







A Universal Soul or Energy (Oversoul)
Essential Goodness of People
Corrupting nature of society
Perfectionism and Optimism
Symbolic aspects of nature: nature is a reflection of our
inner lives
Transcendentalist derives from "transcend“, to rise.
Meaning to rise above the primitive animalistic impulses of
life and move from the normal, rational thinking to a
spiritual realm.
Meaning and value are not external, but reside in
consciousness
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.
Transcendentalism in America

“From 1840-1855, literature in American
experienced a rebirth call the New England
Renaissance. Through their poetry, short stories,
novels, and other works, writers during this
period established a clear American voice. No
longer did they see their work as less influential
then that of European authors.
Transcendentalism was part of this ‘flowering’
of American literature” (Webster, 3).

The ideals of American
democracy is a cornerstone of
transcendentalism, which is
tied in to the idea of
American individuality.

Transcendentalists question
rules and laws presented to
them, attempting to change
the ones that they believe are
unjust, including the validity
of slavery.
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
Founded The Dial, the key
transcendentalist publication of the
day
Emerson’s Major Ideas



Emerson was the founder of the American
transcendental movement, and its chief
intellectual source
“Transparent Eyeball” (Refers to the idea that
one must empty oneself of previous ideas and
experiences in order to “see” the proper nature
of the universe.(Nature, 1836)
Demand for original American thought and art.
(The American Scholar, 1837)
Emerson’s Ideas Cont.

Rejection of traditional values and ideas, in favor of one’s own
empirical knowledge about the world. This includes religious
beliefs. (Self-Reliance, The Divinity School Address)

Radical independence and originality—goal was to restore
vigor and unique nature of the American

Wanted to inspire a unique American intellectual and literary
identity—come out from the shadow of Europe
 America not yet a global superpower, thus owed much of
culture to European forbears

Emerson’s project culminates in a sense in Whitman’s poetry
as well as a sort of poetry native to America, originated by
Americans
Henry David Thoreau
1817 - 1862

If Ralph Waldo Emerson
was the philosopher of
Transcendentalism,
Thoreau was its most
devoted practitioner.

While Emerson wrote
and lectured about
Transcendentalism,
Thoreau tried to live as a
transcendentalist.
Early Education

Unlike Emerson, grew up
in a middle class family.
The family’s financial
circumstances changed
often.

Attended Harvard and
graduated in 1837.
Early Career



Worked as school
teacher.
Contracted
Tuberculosis, a disease
he fought all his life.
Had a short stint
working in his father’s
pencil factory.
The Lecturer and Rebel


As an independent thinker,
Thoreau became the head
of the Concord Lyceum
organizing lectures where he
met Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Thoreau eventually worked
as a handyman and caretaker
of Emerson’s estate while
Emerson spent long stints
studying abroad in Europe.
The Walden Experiment

From 1841 – 1843
Thoreau decided to
conduct an experiment
of self-sufficiency by
building his own house
on the shores of
Walden Pond and living
off the food he grew on
his farm.
Fact from Fiction






While reading excerpts of Walden it
may seem Thoreau wrote his novel
as a diary while being isolated in
the woods, miles from civilization.
However…
Thoreau often went to Concord to
buy supplies.
He wrote thirteen drafts of Walden
before publishing it.
He often had friends visit him in
the evenings.
He house was built on Emerson’s
property.
Civil Disobedience




Another work that was a result
of Thoreau’s Walden
Experiment was his essay Civil
Disobedience.
Thoreau wrote the essay while
spending the night in jail after
refusing to pay a tax that would
help fund slavery in the South.
Civil Disobedience has been a
highly influential work that has
inspired peaceful activists such
as Ghandi and Martin Luther
King Jr.
Famous Quote: “If... the
machine of government... is of
such a nature that it requires
you to be the agent of injustice
to another, then, I say, break
the law.”
Thoreau’s Late Life and Death




Though Thoreau never made a
substantial living as a writer, his
collection of writing consist of
over twenty volumes.
Thoreau’s only trip abroad was to
Canada in 1861 where he had
another lapse of Tuberculosis.
On May 6th, 1862 Thoreau died
losing his fight to the disease.
Emerson later published a
collection of Thoreau’s poems in
1865.