The world, as it is known today, is strictly physical. Humans have no soul, and our sky is not harboring some invisible god of all creation. Nature is not a maternal being looking to comfort the creatures who live amongst her, and the conscienceless creature called man, who currently inhabits Earth, will soon be just like the dinosaurs – dead – for the harsh indifference of the soil beneath man’s feet has no opinion on his survival. Naturalism, as described above, is a grim, almost nihilistic, belief system characterized by the idea that the world is exactly as it can be seen; there is no god, but instead science, which can prove every concept and material object within the universe’s physical world. In addition to putting their complete faith …show more content…
Transcendental writers tend to be more optimistic than their naturalistic counterparts, and they therefore try to connect spiritually with the world and nature around them because, in their minds, the universe is controlled by some higher being or set of laws. While these two belief systems are so strikingly different, both are equally prevalent in today’s society, and both are needed to keep the world and its inhabitants in balance. More or less, naturalism is the yin to transcendentalism’s yang, and vice versa. Neither view provides a comprehensive set of answers to the world’s most pressing issues, and without equal representation of naturalism’s nor transcendentalism’s traits, the world would lose its sense of levelheadedness and …show more content…
Transcendentalists tend to view the world in a much more positive manner, and in the end, this innate optimism can skew their perception of their surroundings, giving them a false sense of security. Obviously in most cases, like the aforementioned scenario, having a realistic view of the world is ideal, and unfortunately, McCandless fell victim to transcendentalism’s faulty idealism. Chris did exactly what the naturalist most likely wouldn’t attempt – to survive in the barren lands of the Alaskan wilderness. Regrettably, Chris’s idealistic view of the world ended his life.
Rational thinking, however, does not prevail in every situation. While naturalism is favorable in instances requiring unbiased assessment to avoid ill fate, it cannot confidently explain intangible concepts like values, morality, or the conscious mind. In these situations, transcendentalists rely on their belief of a higher law or power to guide their understanding of the incorporeal world, which they believe transcends “…beyond what they can see, hear, taste, touch or see” (Transcendentalism, an American