Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism, in philosophy and nature, is the belief in a higher reality than found in sense experience or in a higher knowledge than achieved by human reason. Transcendentalism upholds the goodness of humanity, the glories of nature, and the importance of free individual expression. In addition, it is maintained that an awareness of reality, or a sense of truth, is reached through reasoning by intuition. Transcendentalism also holds that material objects do not have any real existence of their own. Rather, these objects are diffused aspects of God, the Over-Soul. In its most usage, transcendentalism refers to a literary and philosophical movement that developed in the United States in the first half of the 19th century. Two authors who were among the leaders of the movement were Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, whose works "Nature," "Self-Reliance," and "Walden" brought America to the forefront of the transcendentalist movement. Their ideas opposed the popular materialist views of life and voiced a desire for freedom of the individual from artificial restraints. They felt that if they explored nature thoroughly, they would come to know themselves and the universal truths better.
" These lines display the transcendentalist belief that purity and knowledge can be obtained from a union with and understanding of nature. In religion, it was post-Unitarian and freethinking, and he articulated it in his "Divinity School Address. " He sees mankind as somewhat of a coward; that people never express their true selves. This is not surprising since Thoreau was a transcendentalist. Transcendentalism was a fundamental movement that was forever immortalized by innovative authors and works of literature. Thoreau chose to live in seclusion because he believed solitude was the best companion in order to know one's own self. Thoreau stressed the importance of the individual through the statement, "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. They show the deep roots a person has in nature and how one can receive knowledge of their Over-Soul by honestly enjoying the outdoors and freeing oneself of previous evils. Thoreau claimed that humans were "ruined by luxury and heedless expense" and that success is gained when one "advances confidently in the direction of his dreams". His most honored and enjoyed work was the story, "Walden", which gives a forthright statement of his reasons for embracing a contemplative and decidedly transcendentalist life living on the shore of Walden Pond. The first principles include the feeling to discern right from wrong by conscience than by simply following man-made laws, the feeling to fight for what is believed to be morally right, even if it involves self-sacrifice, the belief that there is no shame in being poor since virtue is not found in the accumulation of monetary wealth, the belief that self-respect is attained when personal opinion is formed based on conscience rather than external influence, the suggestion to look to a higher source than mankind for morality, and finally the belief that actions reveal true character. Emerson puts this belief into words in the following lines: "There is a time in every mans education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil. Emerson claims that humans are afraid to fail; they are pleased if successful, but are never happy with where and what they are.
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