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LECTURE NOTES: TRANSCENDENTALISM

Learn about the philosophy of Transcendentalism and its impact on literature and philosophy in the 19th century. Discover the belief in the unity of the individual soul with the world, the rejection of conformity, and the importance of nature as a source of spiritual connection. Explore the works of Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, and Dickinson.

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LECTURE NOTES: TRANSCENDENTALISM

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  1. LECTURE NOTES: TRANSCENDENTALISM

  2. What is Transcendentalism? • Transcendentalism was an important movement in philosophy and literature that flourished during the early to middle years of the nineteenth century (about 1836-1860). 

  3. Why is the transcendentalists soul the soul of the world? • For the transcendentalists, the soul of each individual is identical with the soul of the world and contains what the world contains.

  4. "Standing on the bare ground,--my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted into infinite space,--all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eye-ball. I am nothing. I see all. The currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or parcel of God"

  5. What is Emerson’s view of reason? • According to Emerson, reason is "the highest faculty of the soul--what we mean by the soul itself; it never reasons, never proves, it simply perceives; it is vision." • By contrast, "The Understanding toils all the time, compares, contrives, adds, argues, near sighed but strong-sighted, dwelling in the present the expedient the customary"

  6. How does Transcendentalism compare to the other romantic movements? • Transcendentalism, like other romantic movements, proposes that the essential nature of human beings is good and that, left in a state of nature; human beings would seek the good. Society is to blame for the corruption that mankind endures.

  7. Transcendentalism also takes the Romantic view of man's steady degeneration from childhood to adulthood as he is corrupted by culture: "A man is a god in ruins."

  8. Transcendentalist Authors • Ralph Waldo Emerson • Henry David Thoreau • Walt Whitman • Emily Dickinson

  9. Overview Emerson/ThoreauTranscendentalism

  10. Individual is most powerful force in the universe • A person is inherently good if allowed to be one with his own devices – live in solitude • Conformity ruins individualism • Money corrupts the soul and kills character

  11. People should focus on nature for it is the only spiritual bond between man and the “Oversoul” • The human mind is limitless – society deems it limited • Find comfort only in dynamic thought and the real questions in the world

  12. An individual’s character is the only thing a person takes with him when he dies • Stop and smell the roses / enjoy every sunrise/sunset as if it were your last • Machines will never replace the unique value of an individual

  13. Always Question: • Where did I come from? • What am I doing? • Where am I going?

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