Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism
Belief in a higher kind of knowledge than can
be achieved by human reason.
Where did Transcendentalism come from?
• Idealistic German philosopher Immanuel Kant is credited
with popularizing the term “transcendentalism.”
• It is not a religion—more accurately, it is a philosophy or
form of spirituality with a core belief in the inherent
goodness of people and nature.
• It began as a reform movement in the Unitarian church
with some influence from European romanticism.
‒ Unitarians believe that God is one entity, as opposed to the Trinity,
which defines God as three persons in one being; the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit. Unitarians believe that Jesus was inspired by
God in his moral teachings and is a Savior, but he is perceived as a
human rather than a deity. . .
‒ Transcendentalists take these ideas and add in romanticized
mysticism or spirituality—humankind capable of direct experience
of the holy.
So, what does the word “transcendentalism” mean?
• Something different for each person involved in the movement.
• A loose collection of eclectic ideas. (About literature, philosophy,
religion, social reform, and the general state of American
culture.)
• An idealistic philosophy, spiritual position, and literary
movement that advocates reliance on romantic intuition and
moral human conscience.
• A belief that humans can intuitively transcend (go above) the
limits of the senses, and of logic, to a plane of “higher truths.”
• A belief that society and its institutions corrupted the purity of
the individual.
– Transcendentalists have faith that people are at their best when
truly "self-reliant" and independent.
So, what did Transcendentalists believe?
• The intuitive faculty (instinct), instead
of the rational or logical, became the
means for a conscious union between
the individual soul to the world around
it.
• Value spirituality (direct access to a
benevolent God, not organized religion
or ritual), divinity of humanity, nature,
intellectual pursuits, and social justice.
When did it start in America?
• In 1836, Emerson first expressed his philosophy of
transcendentalism in his essay Nature.
– “To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much
from his chamber as from society. I am not solitary
whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me.
But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars.”
• In 1837, Emerson wrote in his essay "The American
Scholar":
– "We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our
own hands; we will speak our own minds ... A nation
of men will for the first time exist, because each
believes himself inspired by the Divine Soul which
also inspires all men."
Romanticism in America
• “Transcendentalist Club” was formed by Emerson in
1836—promoted writing, reading, and reform projects
• It centered around Boston and Concord, MA. in the mid1800’s. Roughly 1830s-1850s
• Established Utopian communities—groups to escape
American materialism
• Most popular Transcendentalist community—Brook
Farm
Concord, Massachusetts, 1850s
Emerson, Hawthorne, Alcott Homes
“Brook Farm”
Concord, Massachusetts, 1850s
Emerson
Alcott
Road to
Walden
Pond
Hawthorne
Basic Premise #1
The “Oversoul” or “Divine Soul”
An all pervading, unitary, spiritual
power of goodness from which all
things came and of which everyone
was a part. Man, universe, and
nature are intertwined, thus an
individual is the spiritual center of
the universe, and in an individual can
be found the clue to nature, history
and, ultimately, the cosmos itself. It is
not a rejection of the existence of
God, but a preference to explain an
individual and the world in terms of
an individual.
Basic Premise #2
Individualism
“If I know it’s the truth,
then it is truth.” The
structure of the universe
literally duplicates the
structure of the
individual self—all
knowledge, therefore,
begins with selfknowledge.
This is similar to Aristotle's
dictum "know thyself."
Basic Premise #3
Nature is Truth
Transcendentalists
accepted the concept
of nature as a living
mystery, full of signs;
nature is symbolic –a
guide to higher
understanding. Open
yourself to nature.
Basic Premise #4
Self-Reliance
The belief that individual virtue and happiness
depend upon self-realization or self-reliance—this
depends upon the reconciliation of two universal
psychological tendencies:
1.
The desire to embrace the whole world—to know
and become one with the world.
2.
The desire to withdraw, remain unique and
separate—an independent existence.
‒ to “live deliberately - to front only the essential facts
of life . . .”
Who were the leading
Transcendentalists?
Ralph Waldo Emerson
• 1803-1882
• Ordained as a Unitarian minister, but
resigned after the death of his first wife.
• Poet, popular lecturer, and essayist
• Founded the Transcendental Club
• His circle of friends called him "The Sage of
Concord," because they considered him wise.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Banned from Harvard for 30 years following
his
Divinity School address – during this graduation
address, Emerson discounted Biblical miracles
and proclaimed the Unitarian belief that, while Jesus was
a great man, he was not God: historical Christianity, (the
formalism of organized (or, “historical” in his
terminology) Christianity has obscured the sentiment of
personal revelation). His comments outraged the
establishment and the general Protestant community.
For this, he was denounced as an atheist, and a poisoner
of young men's minds. Despite the roar of critics, he
made no reply, leaving others to put forward a defense.
He was not invited back to speak at Harvard for another
thirty years.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Causes:
–
–
–
–
–
A committed Abolitionist,
a champion of the oppressed Native Americans,
a tireless crusader for peace and social justice,
a supporter of educational reform,
a selfless champion of other creative geniuses around him
• Emerson’s Creed: Emerson spoke out against materialism (the belief
that material or physical things—not spiritual—are the most
important), formal religion, and slavery.
• He Outlived His Mind – Sadly, Emerson, who was known in his youth for
his sharp wit and impressive intellect, lost his memory as he got older.
His lack of memory sometimes caused him to forget his own name and
details of his life.
• Emerson stopped appearing in public in 1879 and died three years later
at his home in Concord, Massachusetts.
• He is buried in Sleepy Hollow cemetery.
Henry David Thoreau
• 1817-1862
• Schoolteacher, essayist, poet
• In 1845 he began his famous two-year stay on
Walden Pond, which he wrote about in his master
work, Walden.
• While living at Walden Pond, Thoreau also had an
encounter with the law. He spent a night in jail after
refusing to pay a poll tax.
• This experience led him to write another one of his bestknown and most influential essays, "Civil Disobedience"
(also known as "Resistance to Civil Government").
Thoreau held deeply felt political views, opposing slavery
and the Mexican-American War. He made a strong case
for acting on one's individual conscience and not blindly
following laws and government policy. He wrote, “the
only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at
any time what I think right."
Henry David Thoreau
– Since its publication in 1849, "Civil
Disobedience" has inspired many leaders of
protest movements around the world. This nonviolent approach to political and social
resistance has influenced American civil rights
movement activist Martin Luther King Jr. and
Mohandas Gandhi, who helped India win
independence from Great Britain, among many
others.
Henry David Thoreau
• Influenced the environmental movement
• An ardent and outspoken abolitionist, Thoreau
served as a conductor on the Underground
Railroad to help escaped slaves make their
way to Canada.
• In May 1862, Thoreau died of tuberculosis with which he had
been periodically plagued since his college years.
– He left behind large unfinished projects, including a
comprehensive record of natural phenomena around
Concord, extensive notes on American Indians, and many
volumes of his daily journal jottings.
– At his funeral, his friend Emerson said, “The country knows
not yet, or in the least part, how great a son it has lost. … His
soul was made for the noblest society; he had in a short life
exhausted the capabilities of this world; wherever there is
knowledge, wherever there is virtue, wherever there is
beauty, he will find a home.”