"Nature: The Source for Living"

             Both Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, the two prominent figures of the Transcendentalist movement of the early 1800's, believed nature to be the ultimate source of inspiration and fulfillment for the human life. However, Emerson and Thoreau take different approaches in expressing this shared view of nature in their respective essays, "Nature" and "Walking."
             Ralph Waldo Emerson's radical belief system, known as Transcendentalism, involved being defiant towards conventional religion, traditional authority, and superficial materialism--all of which were popular pillars of early nineteenth century America. Emerson thought that society was corrupt and people were incapable of understanding their surroundings when they conformed to the same set of laws and religious codes. In other words, a group of individuals simply following each other could never actually learn anything. Emerson's transcendentalist worldview is eloquently encapsulated in his well-known essay entitled "Self-Reliance": "Whosoever would be a man, must be a nonconformist...A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...to be great is to be misunderstood."
             In his 1836 essay "Nature", Emerson continues to discuss these themes, but particularly focuses on his idea of a human being's intimate relationship with nature as being the mode of finding completion and transcending mediocrity. He uses nature as the basis for all areas of life, even moral discipline. In his chapter entitled "Discipline," Emerson proposes that formal law and government are unnecessary because people are able to establish their moral standings through their natural environment. He believes that every experience of life in general, and of nature in particular, offers the individual valuable knowledge and insight. "The moral law lies at the centre of nature and radiates to the circumferenc...

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"Nature: The Source for Living". (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 04:40, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/11518.html