TRANSCENDENTALISM
"Finish each day and be done with it. You have
done what you could. Some blunders and
absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as
soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Transcend- Verb
1.to rise above or go beyond; overpass; exceed:
kindness transcends courtesy.
2.to outdo or exceed in excellence, elevation,
extent, degree, etc.; surpass; excel.
3.Theology. (of the Deity) to be one with the
universe, time, etc.).
What is it?
American transcendentalism was an
important movement in philosophy and
literature that flourished during the early
to middle years of the nineteenth century
(about 1836-1860).
How did it come about…
o Began as reform movement in the church
that focused on God’s presence in every
individual and emphasized intuition
• (tuition=that which can be taught, thus
INtuition=cannot be taught)
o Believed that the soul of each individual is
identical with the soul of the world and
contains what the world contains
• Emerson called this the OVERSOUL.
The I’s of Transcendentalism
oInterconnectivity of man, God, and
nature
oIndividualism and self-reliance
oIntuition leads to knowledge
oInherent goodness of people
oImagination and emotions celebrated
What do Transcendentalists
believe?
o Unity of man and creation
o All is one- DIRECT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
o Truth can be understood fully only through experience
o Essential nature of human beings is good and if left in a
state of nature, human beings would seek the goodTranscendentalists seek MORAL AND PHYSICAL
PURITY
o Society is to blame for the corruption that mankind
endures
o Only by transcending the limits of rationalism and
received tradition can the individual fully realize his or
her potential
Five Tenets of
Transcendentalism
1. Individuality – We are the creator of our
own values, not others. We cannot rely on
others to give us meaning; we can only find
it within ourselves.
Five Tenets of
Transcendentalism
2. Non-conformity – A person should remain
outside of society’s, and possibly
government’s, influence in order to achieve
true peace.
Five Tenets of
Transcendentalism
3. Reverence of Nature - Nature is a living
mystery, full of signs. Living close to and at
one with nature is important.
Five Tenets of
Transcendentalism
3. Self-Reliance – we should trust our instincts
and intuition to guide us to do the right
thing.
Five Tenets of
Transcendentalism
5. Dignity of Manual Labor/Simplicity – we can
only be happy when we give up the “stuff”
that society forces us need and we should not
be above doing manual labor to get our
“stuff.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
• 1803 – 1882
• Unitarian Minister (Seventh generation)
• Educated by Aunt Moody who taught him
to be an independent thinker
• Death of first wife from T.B. caused him to
question traditional Christianity
• New faith eliminated the historical and
external elements of Christianity
• Focused on personal experience of the spirit
In my writing…
Genres: Poetry, Essays, Sermons
Major Themes:
• Reliance on self
• Individual perceptions are most important
• Non-Conformity
• Nature as ideal
From Nature (1836)
“…Let us demand our own works and
laws and worship...”
“…Standing on the bare
ground… all egotism
vanishes. I become a
transparent eyeball. I am
nothing. I see all.”
“In the woods is perpetual youth…
In the woods we return to reason and
faith…”
From “Self-Reliance”
(1841)
“There is a time in every man’s education
when he arrives at the conviction that envy
is ignorance; that imitation is suicide…”
“…none but he
knows what that is
which he can do,
not does he know
until he has tried.”
“Trust
thyself…”
“…to be great is to be
misunderstood”
“What I must
do is
all that
concerns me,
not what
people
think…”
Henry David Thoreau
• 1817 – 1862
• While at Harvard read Nature by Emerson
and was greatly influenced by the work
• After teaching for a few years and death of
his brother, he decided to retire to a cabin
owned by Emerson near Walden Pond
• He kept a journal while in the woods and
this became a basis for Walden
• Focused on living deliberately in nature and
the importance of the environment
In my writing…
Genres: Books, Essays
Themes
• Relationship between man and nature
• Society’s limitations and restrictions on the
individual
• Man is divine
From Walden (1854)
“Our life is frittered
away by
detail…simplicity,
simplicity, simplicity!”
“The mass of
men lead lives of
quiet
desperation”
From Civil Disobedience
(1848)
“That government is
best which governs
least”
“If a government is
maintaining unjust
laws, people should at
once effectually
withdraw their
support, both in person
and property, from the
government”