Ralph Waldo Emerson Research Paper

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson was one of the most influential minds of 19th-century America. He left a mark on the world as a philosopher, writer, lecturer, preacher, and poet. He is mainly known for his influence on transcendentalist philosophy and how he contributed to its development through his writing. Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed during Emerson’s lifetime. The philosophy is based on the belief that people, both men, and women, know the world that surrounds them that ‘transcends’, or goes beyond, what they can sense. Emerson has many essays that entertain the philosophy, well-known ones being “Nature” and “Self Reliance.” Parts of his life, specifically his Unitarian beliefs, helped shape

Eventually, this group of intellectuals was named the “Transcendental Club,” many well-known figures were part of this club, for example, Henry David Thoreau and Amos Bronson Alcott. Most members of the Transcendental Club had some sort of association with the Unitarian church, some of them even continuing to practice the religion while nurturing Transcendentalist ideals. Even Emerson believed in God after leaving the church. To him, god can be found by looking inwards into one’s self and one’s soul; such a self-awareness would bring freedom of action and the ability to change one’s world according to the dictates of one’s ideals and conscience. Transcendentalism has never been a rejection of any religion, or Unitarianism in particular. Emerson’s writing talks of religious elements like God and the Devil. The Transcendental Club was part of the Unitarian church in Boston as almost all of the club’s members were ministers at the church. The basis of Transcendentalism is Unitarianism. The philosophy developed as an organic reaction to the Unitarian emphasis on free conscience and the value of intellectual reasoning. Transcendentalists wanted to venture away from the “mildness and calm rationalism” (History.com Editors. “Transcendentalism,” History.com). Because of this, many Unitarian ideals are parts of transcendentalism. Most noticeably, the search for truth and meaning, the community goal of world peace, and the endorsement of reason and individualism. Emerson, in particular, held onto several religious themes in his writing and day-to-day life. He has said many things in support of the individual search for truth and meaning. For example, in his journals of 1836 where he wrote, “Make your Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet.” In another journal quote, Emerson supported the idea