Transcendentalism: The Spirit of Individualism

1. Transcendentalism: The Spirit of Individualism “Every individual is capable of discovering this higher truth on his or her own through intuition.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

2. Transcend (verb) To go beyond the limit Synonymssurpass, exceed

3. Sublime (adjective) Causing wonder or astonishment Synonymsastonishing, astounding, miraculous, wondrous, phenomenal, mind-boggling; beguiling.

4. Transcendentalism: • An intellectual movement, NOT religious. • A movement of philosophy first, then literature. • Beginning of Romantic (not about love) movement.

5. Transcendentalist Beliefs: Nature and Ultimate Reality: Spirituality: Humans could transcend experiences. They can reach limits far below the surface. Experience spiritual revelation.

6. Transcendentalist Beliefs: Nature and Ultimate Reality: Eminence: Whatever is divine is everywhere. Omnipresence: A divine power (for some that means “God”) exists in every living thing. (Trees, grass, fox, man) Unity: United because of a divine power. (Walt Whitman said, “For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.”)

7. Assumptions of Human Knowledge Sense and Understanding: Sense = material world. (We experience life, surroundings, interaction with fellowman) Understanding = interpreting that material world. (We have unique perspectives of those experiences)

8. Intuition and Reason: Intuition gives (internal) knowledge of reality. Reality may not always resemble what one can see and/or hold in his/her hands. A Transcendental reality = inner truth.

9. Transcendentalists believe in the power of knowledge. They do not dismiss logic. They admire intelligence. They search for answers. Not willing to dismiss the intellect, the Transcendentalist looks to REASON to explain an inner truth.

10. Where does one seek truth? With so many voices (intelligent and less than) telling individuals what to do, think, say, and feel, each person must leave (usually only temporary) his/her civilized (and often corrupt) society to find answers. Since the divine exists everywhere and in everyone, individuals need time with nature to find inner truth.

11. More Transcendentalists Beliefs: • NOT every Transcendentalist agrees with every Transcendental belief. • They do believe in connection to a divine power through nature. • Man has free will. • INDIVIDUALITY is essential!

12. Popular Transcendentalists: • Ralph Waldo Emerson • Leader/ “Father” of Transcendentalism. • By 1840, internationally known as a philosopher. Poet, Essayist, Lecturer. • Attended Harvard at 14 years old. • Minister until he faced religious doubt after wife died. • Had a revelation = Humans and nature connect. “Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” (Emerson)

13. Henry David Thoreau • Harvard grad, follower of Emerson, abolitionist, great thinker. • Lived by his values, not society’s. • Wrote “Civil Disobedience” against slavery and Walden Pond about his year living a peaceful and solitary life. “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived,” (Thoreau).

14. Walt Whitman • Familiar with country and city life. • Jobs ranged from teacher to reporter to carpenter to nurse during the Civil War. • He self published his masterpiece poetry titled Leaves of Grass. “I exist as I am, that is enough.” (Whitman)

15. Many wise words from published transcendentalists are considered aphorisms. An aphorism is a brief statement, usually one sentence long, that expresses a general principle or truth about life. Ex: “Honesty is the best policy.” (Ben Franklin) With a partner, choose an aphorism. Write a brief analysis of the statement. Connect it to the Transcendentalism philosophy. Illustrate the statement. Be creative. Think/illustrate metaphorically.

16. Aphorisms • Trust thyself-Emerson • Every heart vibrates to that iron string.-Emerson • Imitation is suicide-Emerson • Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.-Emerson • To be great is to be misunderstood-Emerson • It is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the mist of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude…-Emerson •  With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do.-Emerson • Is there not a sort of blood shed when the conscience is wounded?-Thoreau • If a plant cannot live according to its nature, it dies; and so a man.-Thoreau • Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist.-Thoreau • What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think.-Emerson •  It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own.-Emerson • I wish to live deliberately-Thoreau • Why should we live with such hurry and waste life? We are determined to be starved before we are hungry.-Thoreau • Time is but a stream I go a-fishing in.-Thoreau • Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads…-Thoreau • If you have built a castle in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be.-Thoreau • Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.-Thoreau • Things do not change; we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts.-Thoreau • Money is not required to buy one necessary of the soul…-Thoreau • The surface of the earth is soft and impressionable by the feet of men-Thoreau