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American Transcendentalism

American Transcendentalism. The Transcendentalists: True Reality is Spiritual. These people believed that to find the truth about God, the universe, and one’s self, one must transcend, or go beyond, the everyday experiences of the physical world. Idealism  Transcendentalism.

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American Transcendentalism

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  1. American Transcendentalism

  2. The Transcendentalists: True Reality is Spiritual • These people believed that to find the truth about God, the universe, and one’s self, one must transcend, or go beyond, the everyday experiences of the physical world.

  3. Idealism  Transcendentalism • Greek philosophy of idealism was at the root of Transcendentalism • Idealists said that true reality was found in ideas, not in the imperfect physical world. • They sought the pure reality – the “ideal” that was beneath physical appearances. • American Transcendentalists were idealists in a more practical sense. • They believed that humanity could be perfected, and they worked to make this idea a reality.

  4. A Transcendental View of the World • Everything, including people, is a reflection of the divine. • The physical world is a doorway to the spiritual world. • People can use intuition to sense God in nature or in their own souls. • A person is his or her own best authority. • Feeling and intuition are superior to reason and intellect.

  5. TWO FAMOUS AMERICAN TRANSCENTENTALISTS • Ralph Waldo Emerson • Most influential Transcendentalist • Mentor to Thoreau • Henry David Thoreau • Influenced Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

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