Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson: Poet PhilosopherEmerson's upbringing played a substantial role in the formation of his philosophy and thought. The son of a Unitarian minister, Emerson was trained for the pulpit, but he found the church to be far too "confining." Emerson instead chose to proclaim his views on God, the soul, and Nature through his writing.Emerson can best be described as a "poet philosopher" rather than a "technical" one. Emerson's philosophy can be viewed as "romantic individualism" or transcendentalism with special emphasis on romantic notions, such as that of the 'individual' (1). In "American Scholar" Emerson presents his view of man. Man is not a part of the whole, or even the sum of his parts, but rather man is "all." Emerson frowns on society's development of the individual. Instead of creating originality and genius ("Man Thinking"), society has created a class of "victim[s]" who can only "parrot other men's thinking" (2a). For Emerson the most important influence upon the mind was that of "nature," and he felt that the true scholar should be actively engaged in the "spectacle" of the nature around him. The supreme power of nature is the major recurring theme in Emerson (and most transcendental literature). I
We must also be self-assured, not concerned "with what [other] people think" (5a). In "Self Reliance" Emerson entreats us not to rely upon Nature, but upon ourselves. The Darwinian stance would have man simply as a product (or perhaps even a by-product) of the world. Without [action] thought can never ripen into truth" (2d). Emerson notes that the only thing of value in the world is the "active soul. " He declares thinking and living to be "partial," but combined they form the totality of our existence (2g).
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Acceptance Essays
