Transcendentalist writers were a group of intellectuals in the 19th century who believed in the inherent goodness of people and nature, and the power of individual experience and intuition. They believed that truth and knowledge could be obtained through individual contemplation and self-reliance, rather than through organized religion or traditional social institutions.
One of the most prominent transcendentalist writers was Ralph Waldo Emerson, who is often considered the leader of the movement. In his essays and lectures, Emerson argued for the importance of individualism and self-reliance, and encouraged his readers to think for themselves and to trust their own experiences and insights. He believed that people should live in harmony with nature and with their own inner selves, and that they should seek to find meaning and purpose in their lives through their own individual experiences.
Another influential transcendentalist writer was Henry David Thoreau, who is best known for his book "Walden," in which he describes his experiences living in a simple cabin in the woods and exploring the natural world around him. Thoreau was a strong advocate for living a simple and self-sufficient life, and he believed that people should resist the materialism and conformity of modern society in order to find true happiness and fulfillment.
Other notable transcendentalist writers include Margaret Fuller, who was a leading feminist and social reformer, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was a prolific novelist and short story writer. These writers, along with others, helped to establish the transcendentalist movement as a major force in American literature and thought, and their ideas continue to influence contemporary thinking on issues related to individualism, self-reliance, and the nature of truth and knowledge.
Transcendentalist Ideas & Beliefs
They did not believe in the idea of exercising intellect and reason to find God. Henry David Thoreau's "Walden" chronicles the more than two years he spent living in solitude in the woods. This characteristic grew from the American Romanticism movement, which, too, occurred in response to the Age of Reason. Many of the early leaders of transcendentalism, including Emerson, had once been Unitarian ministers, and transcendentalism first began as a philosophy in opposition to Unitarianism. It was created as a rebellious reaction to the previous Age of Reason, and its rationalist way of thinking. Thus, the spiritual measure of inspiration is the depth of the thought, and never, who said it? In the wilderness, I find something more dear and connate than in streets or villages.
The Beginnings of Unitarianism in America, Boston: Beacon. Emerson called poets 'liberating gods. Henry David Thoreau, a writer and naturalist, was greatly affected by Emerson's writings and formed a close friendship with him. The movement began as a protest against the general state of society at the time; referring to the influence of the Unitarian Church and Harvard intellectualism. Just as individualism meant finding truth through one's own intuition, idealism is the belief that every person has an independent view of the world, and that each independent view is important for determining ideal truths and ways of living in life.
Though many critics have associated authors such as Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson with this movement, many other American authors utilized themes of transcendentalism in their works. Others gather in circles to read aloud from essays and other works, reflecting upon and sharing insights from chosen passages. His bones ache with the days' work that earned it. The external world, he theorized, provides the things we sense, but the manner in which we process and sense them gives the world order. However, before we delve into defining and comprehending this movement, it's necessary for one to understand why it was developed. Emerson was also a prolific lecturer. The term oversoul is a transcendentalist term, which explains that everything is connected and thus happens for a reason; therefore, transcendentalists also believe that, since nature is divine, we must not interfere with it and leave it be as God intended.
Transcendentalism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Thoreau, looking up to Emerson, would be inspired by his Henry David Thoreau Posted on December 7, 2017 April 26, 2019 Author Categories. An image of Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the first Transcendentalists Origin of Transcendentalism Transcendentalism formed as a rebellious reaction to the Age of Reason -- a state where society was focused on rationalism and searching for objective truths in humanity and the universe. Thousands died along the way. During the 19th century, the Harvard educated, known as Boston Brahmins, spread their Europe-influenced teachings in America. Fuller addresses American slavery directly in Woman in the Nineteenth Century, recalling her dread at the news that James K.
Two important writers in the Transcendentalist movement were Ralph Waldo Emerson, who wrote essays such as Self-Reliance, and Henry David Thoreau, who wrote a great deal on the beauty of nature and independence in Walden and in his journals. In the first decade of the 19th century, the Harvard Divinity School scholars taught the principles of Unitarianism, and this intellectualism was opposed by the transcendentalists. The Story of Concord Told by Concord Writers. American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, circa 1857. As a way to model his understanding of nature, he became the first poet to utilize free verse.
American Transcendentalism and Asian Religions, New York: Oxford University Press. The basic beliefs of this movement are that humans have a universal soul with nature, one should trust their intuition, and nature can be restorative, especially in a time of industrialization. The notion of thinking for oneself without following the rules set forth by a society is one of the fundamental tenets of transcendentalism. She journeyed to the Midwest in the summer of 1843, and published her observations as Summer on the Lakes the following year. By what disciplines to secure the most life, with what care to watch our thoughts. It was so unsuccessful, in fact, that Thoreau was forced to buy back hundreds of copies from the publisher.
Hotspur lives for the moment, praises himself for it, and despises Furlong, that he does not. In response to this debate, four Harvard alumni met to discuss the ideas in this debate. At a time when society was drastically altering, this was a unique way to call into question the rapid and sometimes harmful changes occurring. In 1862, Thoreau died at the age of 44. The Transcendentalist movement built off Romanticism by emphasizing the individuality of people while also asserting that humans are intimately connected with nature.
Lesson Summary To summarize this lesson, it is important that you remember that the Transcendentalist Movement was a philosophical era that followed the Age of Reason and the Romantic Movement in America. Similar tales of dramatic personal transformation brought about by experiencing nature first-hand are common throughout transcendentalist literature. Additional pages provide resources, both on-line and in print, that offer opportunities for further exploration. Another transcendentalist, Bronson Alcott, was involved in the publication of a book about Buddha. In his long essay, Walden, he writes: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. They were Frederic Henry Hodge, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Unitarian ministers George Ripley and George Putnam.
