Ralph Waldo Emerson:
“Nature” and “Self-Reliance”
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God is always near
He reveals Himself everywhere and at all times in
nature.
In His presence we feel real delight in spite of sorrow.
Nature gives us better, “higher” thoughts and
emotions.
“In the woods, is perpetual youth” (Nature).
Every person should place full trust in himself or
herself (Self-Reliance).
 Never conform (one of the main issues with
society)
The Transcendental View
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The physical facts of the natural world
are a doorway to the spiritual or ideal
world (simply SEEING something and
appreciating it is not enough…we must
FEEL it).
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“transparent eyeball”
People can use their intuition to behold
God’s spirit revealed in nature or in their
own souls.
The Transcendental View,
continued…
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Self- reliance and individualism must
outweigh external authority and blind
conformity to custom and tradition.
Spontaneous feelings and intuition are
superior to deliberate intellectualism
and rationality.