...document for American democracy, and it features many ideas from the time it was written. One set of ideas that are not prominently feature in the constitution are those of Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is a philosophy that is based around a focus on ideas and feelings, and the belief that individuals can find truth within themselves. The best know Transcendentalist writers include the likes of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, who became well known for their strong political opinions (Brodrick). Issues that are extremely important to the Transcendentalists such as slavery and the forcible removal of Native Americans from their land are not addressed, and barely mentioned in the body of the...
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...Transcendentalism and Christianity Have Incompatible Beliefs Transcendentalism is “a group of new ideas in literature, religion, culture, and philosophy that emerged in the early to middle 19th century” (Wikipedia). Transcendentalism first started with Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the pioneers of the Transcendentalists, who in his essay “Nature”, criticized several things, especially the Unitarian church (Wikipedia). Many other Transcendentalists such as Thomas Parker, Henry David Thoreau, Amos Bronson Alcott, and James Freeman Clark, along with Emerson, were critics of their society because they didn’t like the fact that people had “unthinking conformity” (Stanford 1). Transcendentalists work to make the world better through “social reform movements” and also strongly believe that one’s intuitive ability is a gift from God (Lewis). These might be the reasons why Transcendentalists tried to build their own religion based on certain principles which they said came from the “inner essence of the human” (Wikipedia). The Transcendental movement came out of a religious group of Christians in order to create their own group in many points incompatible with Christianity (Stanford 1). This is why Transcendentalism and Christianity have incompatible beliefs. One of the ways the beliefs of Transcendentalists and Christians are incompatible is that they have incompatible beliefs about Jesus. Christians believe that Jesus came to human beings to show them the way to salvation (Certificate...
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...covers Philosophy of Culture. This encompasses the three main world views. These views are theism, transcendentalism, and naturalism. First Week - Introduction The first class covered the introduction ot the Philosophy of Culture course by having us answer seven thought-provoking questions. Each question, though simple, was worded in such a way as to make one think about it in-depth. These questions dealt with our perception of reality and our thoughts concerning life and its meaning. It challenged our religious faith and made us declare not only what we believed, but why we believed it. We read “An Atheist’s Values”, a statement of secular humanism. We then wrote a paragraph describing the views of this type of naturalist. Although brotherly love, courage, cheerfulness, and dignity are promoted in the statement, no basis or foundation upon which these virtues should come is given other than the author’s opinion. We read and discussed in class the three basic world views. By studying these views, we will be able to understand the mindset of those whose world views differs from ours. Second Week – Overview of World Views Theism is the belief in one superior being, a creator or god. This can be broken down even further into monotheistic and polytheistic beliefs. Monotheistic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, believe in one god. Polytheistic religions, such as those practiced by the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians, believe in more than one god...
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...American Romanticism * Early Romanticism * Washington Irving * James Cooper * Transcendentalism * Ralph Emerson * Henry Thoreau * Others: eg. Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne… * Romanticism---a retrospect * Background of Romanticism in Europe? * The Industrial Revolution * The French Revolution * Ideological change * Definition & Features of Romanticism? * Romanticism(The Romantic Movement) * 5 key features * Romanticism was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century, recognized for expressions of exoticism, individualism, emotionalism, and the beauty of nature, rejecting the ordered rationality of the Enlightenment as mechanical, impersonal, and artificial. * Imagination; * Nature; * Individualism; * Glorification of the Commonplace; * The Lure of the Exotic * American Romanticism * Time: Romantic period---early 19th century to the outbreak of the Civil War * Forms: novels, short stories, and poems replaced sermons and manifestos as America’s principal literary forms * Background: * exterior: Romantic movement in Europe (inheritance) * interior: Westward movement and economic boom; * Literary themes: * Highly imaginative and subjective * Emotional intensity * Escapism * Common man as hero ...
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...Transcendentalism : Significant Authors and Works Transcendentalism was a physiological and literary movement that began in New England in the 1840's. Many highly regarded scholars at this time attended meetings in Boston to discuss and write about spiritual ideas ; They called themselves the Transcendentalists. They had very radical opinions and were nonconformists when it came to organized religion. Their goal was to share a personal sense of spirituality and to tell that everyone had a private relationship between themselves and the universe, better known as 'The Eternal One' theory. Many important authors gained fame form this movement, such as : Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Walt Whitman. Ralph Waldo Emerson is often regarded as the heart and soul of the Transcendentalism movement. He left Unitarian church ministry to focus more on physiological and spiritual writing. His first well known essay was "Nature" ; It gave insight to Emerson's view of the natural world, and in it he said that through exploring nature, man would find out more about himself. He also believed it was fundamental that man take a break from the distractions in society and get lost in ones thoughts about the natural world. “The happiest man is he who learns from nature the lesson of worship”. This direct quote from "Nature" embodies the principles of the transcendentalist movement by restating their belief on separation from the church to build a better 'Eternal Self' with the...
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...PREFACE This major project examines the indispensable desiderata of Transcendentalism in comparison to the Dark Romantics background and how these technicalities prepare this work of art as an influential synthesis of human imagination incorporated with mystic facts. Transcendentalism and Dark Romanticism were two literary movements that occurred in America during roughly the same time period (1840—1860). Although the two had surface similarities, such as their reverence for Nature, their founding beliefs were quite different, enough to make one seem almost the antithesis of each other. Moreover one’s genesis is ventured out from other; i.e. Dark Romanticism from the roots of Transcendentalism or precisely the lacunae are best determined for raising up the term called Dark Romanticism. Contents S. No. Page no. Chapter 1.........................................................................................................4-14 Chapter 2.........................................................................................................15-23. Chapter 3..........................................................................................................24-27 Resolution.........................................................................................................28-29 Work Cited................................................................
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...After reading and dissecting each one of the Transcendentalism tenets, these are how I feel on some of them. First off, the interesting ones really caught my eye as they made me realize and think hard about the many readings and experiences I’ve had on this sort of topic/issue. One of them were that transcendentalists said how “power is to be obtained by defying fate or predestination”, or simply choosing your fate. I always thought that either a god/or some religious figure would choose our fate, which is what the Puritans thought too as they were always working hard to predestinate to heaven. What I got out of all of this, was that transcendentalists are “often not religious, but spiritual.” Another tenet I thought was interesting, was that “transcendentalism is a very optimistic philosophy in that it assumes that all people and things want to exist in their ideal state.” So I thought this kind of related to a friend I know, who always...
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...Transcendentalism is considered by many to be the first truly American literary movement, and has influenced a great deal of writing since its birth in the mid nineteenth century. Though it drew from its roots of English Romanticism, Transcendentalism was developed largely in America, and has been one of the most influential literary movements in American history. One of the most well-known Transcendentalist writers was Ralph Waldo Emerson, who penned the essay “Nature”, describing Transcendentalism. The philosophy of Transcendentalism promotes the idea that nature provides a physical representation of the human mind, and that through observing nature humans can work toward a better understanding of the universe and themselves; it also states...
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...significant because it gave Americans a sense of pride in their country and individualism in their identity apart from Europe. Additionally, the Hudson River School consisted of a band of artists, most of them living in New York, who created artwork of landscapes in the Hudson River Valley and surrounding areas. They didn’t only paint landscapes, they also attempted to capture American ideals of romanticism and often had themes of exploration and settlement. Furthermore, the paintings of romanticism illustrated the artists nationalism by showing their ignorance to America’s problems and painting a “perfect world” or kind of utopia. The outbreak in popularity of transcendentalism at the time showed the efforts of the country to try and improve society. By highlighting the importance of the common man, transcendentalism rapidly gained traction because it’s exactly what the people wanted; those who supported the philosophy demonstrated nationalism by being concerned with the quality of...
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...the strongest connection that Whitman and Dickinson share. Whitman's view on death is reflective of his belief in Transcendentalism. In "Song of Myself", Whitman uses the scientific principle of the conservation of energy to assert that there is life after death, because energy cannot be destroyed; only transformed. In stanza six, he writes "And what do you think has become of the women and children?/ They are alive and well somewhere,/ The smallest sprouts shows there is really no death" (Whitman 124-126). Whitman contends that life remains long after death, Dickinson's writings on death are more complex and contradictory. She personifies death, generally seeing as a lord or as a compelling lover. In one of her more popular poems, "Because I could not stop for Death", death is like a kindly courter. He picks her up in a "Carriage held but just for Ourselves-/ And Immortality" (Dickinson 3-4). Many of her other poems are about the moment of death, and what happens when the living cross over into the dead. In "I heard a Fly buzz- when I died", Dickinson tries to explain what happens at the boundary of death. She describes the experience as conflicted as she attempts to define that moment with vivid images and sounds. Religion is also another subject both writers struggle with, and it often ties into the death theme. Whitman challenged the traditional idea of religion,...
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...Steinbeck’s Philosophical Theory and Influences The Grapes of Wrath, a story of the Joads’ journey from Oklahoma to California in search of the American dream during the Great Depression era. Thousands upon thousands of people had to pack up and leave the land that they were born and raised on due to the Dust Bowl and the banks foreclosing on acres and acres of property. Having lived through this time period, John Steinbeck, the author of the novel The Grapes of Wrath is no stranger to the conditions these people lived in. Traveling with migrant farm workers for a few years in Salinas California, John adopted a very specific philosophical theory from the many influences around him. John Steinbeck’s philosophical theory, including transcendentalism and the concept of the oversoul, humanism, earthy democracy, and pragmatism, all play an important role in the development of his characters in The Grapes of Wrath. To begin, one of the most important characters in the novel, Jim Casy, “the preacher”, single-handedly interprets and embodies the philosophy of the author John Steinbeck and the novel itself. Tom Joad and Jim Casy cross paths while Tom was on his way home to find his family after just being released from prison. The two men, having been long time friends, decide to walk together and catch up. Jim vents to Tom, and tells him about not preaching anymore. “I was a preacher,” the man [Jim Casy] said seriously, “but not no more” (Steinbeck 41). Casy had struggled with being...
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...more westward. During this time people began to question some the ways their society had accepted. Many wanted to change their political views or change certain things due to their religion. Many people blamed alcohol for the way things were so they tried the temperance movement. Education became an important issue to the colonies. So they set up private schools, had high schools, provided more teachers for higher education. Abolition of slavery was a huge topic among these times. Many people, slave owners and non slave owner spoke against slavery. This was a huge and active time for the Underground Railroad. An underground route that helped free slave from captivity ran by an escaped slaved called Harriet Tubman. One of the most significant reforms was for women’s rights. I feel this had the biggest effect of the times. They fought for economic and social equality. This became very significant because now women had the right to help make choices which is had a huge effect for today. There were also many people that left and reformed to create utopian communities. One of these communities was Brook Farm. Brook Farm was based on the principles of transcendentalism. Organized and reformed by George Ripley in West Roxbury Massachusetts, transcendentalism was based on living a simple easy way of life. This would be a good way of life for some, because they had all that they needed right there in the community. Such as...
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...were expanding more westward. During this time people began to question some the ways their society had accepted. Many wanted to change their political views or change certain things due to their religion. Many people blamed alcohol for the way things were so they tried the temperance movement. Education became an important issue to the colonies. So they set up private schools, had high schools, provided more teachers for higher education. Abolition of slavery was a huge topic among these times. Many people, slave owners and non slave owner spoke against slavery. This was a huge and active time for the Underground Railroad. An underground route that helped free slave from captivity ran by an escaped slaved called Harriet Tubman. One of the most significant reforms was for women’s rights. I feel this had the biggest effect of the times. They fought for economic and social equality. This became very significant because now women had the right to help make choices which is had a huge effect for today. There were also many people that left and reformed to create utopian communities. One of these communities was Brook Farm. Brook Farm was based on the principles of transcendentalism. Organized and reformed by George Ripley in West Roxbury Massachusetts, transcendentalism was based on living a simple easy way of life. This would be a good way of life for some, because they had all that they needed right there in the community. Such as food, clothes, work, schooling...
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...Jonathan Veldhuyzen Professor Matthew Towles English 201-002 11/21/2014 Ralph Waldo Emerson: His own God and Transcendentalist Worldview “The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, though their own eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insights and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us,” (940, 941) were the words written by Emerson in the introduction of his renown work “Nature” as he espoused that men should not necessarily believe in a God through ideals seen in the Bible and evidenced in nature, but rather use their own logic through poetry and philosophy to determine their own God. His writings espoused beliefs that do not reflect a Christian worldview, but rather bases man’s salvation on his own intuition. Emerson was a rebel in his time, he had independent views that did not align to any system of values. According to “Anthology of American Literature,” Bronson Alcott declares that “Emerson’s church consists of one member-himself.” These words signify that Emerson’s ideas and values were so radical for the time that very few people shared his beliefs. Yet, he was not alone in espousing thinking that seemed somewhat pantheistic and contradictory to what he had preached many years earlier. During the 1830’s Ralph Waldo Emerson joined with some other literary authors of the day in supporting a set of values that looked beyond a Supreme Being for...
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...Chapters 11 & 13 Guided Reading Tentative Due date: 11/17/2015 Big Picture Questions (must be answered to receive full credit): To what extent did individualism, new religious sects, abolitionism, and women’s rights change American culture during the antebellum period (1820-1860)? Chapter 11: Religion and Reform 1800-1860 Individualism: The Ethic of the Middle Class Discuss the differing opinions on the lack of rigid class structures in America: Alexis de Tocqueville: Ralph Waldo Emerson: Transcendentalism: How did Second Great Awakening preachers like Finney adopt portion of Emerson’s philosophies regarding man? How did the main teachings of Transcendentalism differ from the teachings of most Protestant faiths of the time? Emerson’s Literary Influence (For each author describe their main literary focus and delineate between fiction or nonfiction) Henry David Thoreau: Margaret Fuller: Walt Whitman: Nathaniel Hawthorne: Herman Melville: Rural Communalism and Urban Popular Culture Utopias: Communalists: Shakers: marriage? Socialism: property ownership? Humphrey Noyes and Oneida: perfectionism: marriage? Joseph Smith: Mormonism: What was summary of Book of Mormon? How were Mormons accepted by those outside of their faith and what did this lead them to do? Brigham Young: Abolitionism -Skip (We will cover this in class) The Women’s Rights Movement Women became...
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