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Transcendentalism

Explore the philosophy of transcendentalism and its key concepts, including the inherent goodness of individuals, the connection between nature and the soul, and the belief in personal authority and intuition.

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Transcendentalism

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  1. Transcendentalism An overview Of key Terms and Figures

  2. Definitions • TRANSCENDENTALISM • describes a very simple idea. • People, men and women equally, have knowledge about themselves and the world around them that "transcends" or goes beyond what they can see, hear, taste, touch or feel. • This knowledge comes through intuition and imagination not through logic or the senses. • People can trust themselves to be their own authority on what is right.

  3. Background • Ralph Waldo Emerson, borrowing from the German philosopher Immanuel Kant popularized the term “transcendentalism.” • It is not a religion—more accurately, it is an American philosophy or form of spirituality. • It centered around Boston and Concord, MA. in the mid-1800’s. Members belonged to “The Transcendental Club.” • A core belief was in the inherent goodness of both people and nature. Transcendentalists believed that society and its institutions ultimately corrupted the purity of the individual, and had faith that people are at their best when truly "self-reliant" and independent.

  4. Basic Beliefs • Everything in the world, including people, is a reflection of God, or the Divine Soul. • Therefore people are inherently good, and it is society that corrupts. • The physical world is a doorway to the spiritual world. • A person—not society, the church, or government—is his or her own best authority.

  5. Nature and the Over-Soul • Transcendentalist writers expressed semi-religious feelings toward nature • They saw a direct connection between the universe & the individual soul • Divinity permeated all objects, animate or inanimate • The purpose of human life was union with the “Oversoul” – a sort of convergence of the individual, God & Nature • The Transcendentalists believed that because human beings are a part of the Divine Soul, they are capable of perfection. • Emphasis should be placed on the here and now. "Give me one world at a time." - Thoreau

  6. Paradox of 2 Tendencies • The dualism assumes our two psychological needs; • the contracting: being unique, different, special, having a racial identity, ego-centered, selfish, and so on; • the expansive: being the same as others, altruistic, be one of the human race, and so on. • The transcendentalist expectation is to move from the contracting to the expansive.

  7. Key Creations • Lyceum Movement: an early social experiment in adult education; community presentations and entertainments that supported travelling lecturers and performers while also serving social functions. (modeled after Aristotle’s Lykium in Athens, Greece) • The Dial: From its inception in 1840 to its closing in 1844, this was the primary journal of Transcendentalist thought. • Brook Farm: Early (failed) experiment in socialist living, led by George Ripley. • Education Reform: Early experiments in education reform led to establishment of Kindergarten and of other progressive models. • Feminism: Fitting with their ideas of the unity of all living beings, Transcendentalists supported early feminist ideas, such as that the gaps between men and women were not as great as they seem, that gender is a fluid concept and that masculinity and femininity flow naturally from one to another.

  8. Philosophical Roots • Romanticism: European intellectual and artistic movement led by German philosophers and embraced by British literary artists. Emphasized beauty of nature, preeminence of individual over the collective, objected to social constraints, and valued emotional and intuitive perception over reason. • Unitarianism: Theological perspective that rejects the trinity, viewing God as a singular entity that runs through all the natural world; more progressive wing of Christianity. Reason, science, and philosophy co-exist with faith in God.

  9. Ralph Waldo Emerson • (1803-1882): Effectively the leading spokesperson for the Transcendentalist movement, he became the most successful lecturer of his age, a widely published essayist and poet. His work emphasizes the sanctity of the individual. Author of “Nature,”“Self-Reliance,” and “The Over-Soul.”

  10. Henry David Thoreau • (1817-1862): Emerson’s most famous follower and friend, Thoreau ultimately broke beyond Emerson’s implicit conservatism to forge a more radical vision of individual rights and the limitations of the state. Perhaps the most influential Transcendentalist thinker to today. Author of “Civil Disobedience” and “Walden.”

  11. Margaret Fuller • (1810-1850): Perhaps the first American woman to make a living as a full-time writer as a journalist and book reviewer (for The New York Tribune), certainly one of our earliest feminist voices. Widely recognized as the “best read person in New England, man or woman,” she was the first woman given access to the Harvard Library and served as the first editor of The Dial. Died in shipwreck; Thoreau sent to recover her body.

  12. Walt Whitman • (1819-1892):Poet, essayist, and journalist, deeply influenced by the Transcendentalists in both their humanism and in their invention of catalog rhetoric, which he used to become “the father of American blank verse.” His frank treatment of sexuality led to charges of obscenity for his work. Devoted his life to writing and revising his masterwork, Leaves of Grass.

  13. The Dial writing assignment (AP) Write a 1 page essay and/or poem about Transcendental themes or experiences, as if it were to be published in Emerson and Thoreau's famous journal, The Dial. • Get the topic approved by me before you begin. • If it helps, think about emulating the style of one Transcendental writer: Thoreau, Emerson, or Whitman. • Draw from personalexperience -- and then relate that to Transcendental messages/morals/themes. (just like Thoreau does in Walden, Emerson does in Self-Reliance, and Whitman does in Song of Myself) • You will be graded on Ideas & Content (20), Organization (10), and Voice (20) for a total of 50 points. This is an ASSESSMENT • This is due MONDAY. Make the most of your time in class!

  14. Your Letter / Manifesto (Amer Lit) Write your OWN version of the letter Chris McCandless writes to the old man, Ron, in Into the Wild. • This should read like a personal manifesto, arguing what's important to your way of life, and what you recommend to an unhappy stranger to improve his life. • The letter should be roughly 1 page, double-spaced, 12 point font.You will be graded on Ideas & Content (20), Organization (10), Voice (10), and Persuasiveness (10) for a total of 50 summative points. • This is due MONDAY in class. Make the most of your time today!

  15. Some Legacies… • A “brotherhood of the like-minded” (that included sisters) • Why should any religion institution have greater claim to authority than the individual conscience or inner light? • The first group of American intelligentsia to advocate that the great non-western religious traditions be taken seriously. • Emphasis on Civil Disobedience that would influence Gandhi, MLK, Cesar Chavez, and many others…

  16. Cartoon Activity

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