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Transcendentalism in the modern world
Transcendentalism in the modern world
The influence of transcendentalism
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During the 1830s, an intellectual movement took place called Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is the idea that an individual is the center of the universe and is more powerful than any institution. This way of thinking was very new to the people during that time. Even though the movement took place well over one hundred years ago, traits of Transcendentalism are still abundant in society today. For example, the movie Wall-E contains many traits of Transcendentalism.
Transcendentalism is a highly competitive world of the market revolution which strongly encouraged the identification of American freedom without any restraints on people who were seeking financial improvement and personal development. It was a world in which regional developments along with the market revolution crushed traditional and social borders. For example moving from one place to another was a common characteristic of the American life. Transcendentalism believed in individual judgment over existing social traditions and institutions.
In the short story, “Death of an Innocent” by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless travels into the Alaskan wilderness with the intention of relying completely on himself. In the true spirit of transcendentalism, McCandless travels to escape the bounds of society and to remove himself from a materialistic world. Many argue, however, that Chris McCandless was not a transcendentalist because he travels to exotic lands as a means of avoidance, but actually, Chris McCandless is the epitome of a transcendentalist. Transcendentalists, however, rely on themselves and nature to survive and do not depend on material items. Transcendentalists romanticize individualism and believe that intuition is the best guide through life.
"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.”- Henry David Thoreau. Transcendentalism is an American philosophy that revolves around self-reliance and independence, commonly in nature, a Transcendentalist wants to find the true meaning in life. I believe that Chris McCandless was a Transcendentalist because he was able to leave his whole life behind and take on a minimalist lifestyle while having a strong relationship with god. However, I believe that I am not a Transcendentalist, but simply an adventurer.
Was Chris McCandless a true transcendentalist? Transcendentalism is a system developed by Immanuel Kant, based on the idea that, in order to understand the nature of reality, one must first examine and analyze the reasoning process that governs the nature of experience. Influenced by romanticism, Platonism, and Kantian philosophy, it taught that divinity pervades all nature and humanity, and its members held progressive views on feminism and communal living. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were central figures. In Jon Krakauer’s novel, Into the Wild, McCandless is viewed as a transcendentalist.
n today’s society the internet plays a huge role in the everyday lives of many people, therefore many individuals’ main form of communication is over sites like Facebook, and twitter. In Malcolm Gladwell’s essay, “Small Change, Why the Revolution will not be Tweeted,” he explores the different methods used by activists nowadays versus those used by the activists in the 1960s. Gladwell argues that social media is not an effective tool to initiate revolutionary movements or any change at all for that matter, based off its weak ties formed over different social networks. Gladwell illustrates multiple cases of protests and adds that without the assistance of social media, these protests were stronger, prearranged and based off deeper emotional ties. Throughout the article Gladwell continuously returns to the Civil rights movement and why it was effective.
In “The Old Manse,” Nathaniel Hawthorne criticizes Emerson and the Transcendentalists, rendering the entire movement dispensable. Hawthorne writes, “Never was a poor little country village infested with such a variety of queer, strangely dressed, oddly behaved mortals, most of whom took upon themselves to be important agents of the world’s destiny,” showing his general dislike for the Emerson and his followers. Using words such as “infested” and “queer” that typically occupy a negative connotation and are not words of admiration, Hawthorne demonstrates this dislike through, for all intensive purposes, calling the Transcendentalists odd and peculiar. Additionally, Hawthorne writes, “Such, I imagine, is the invariable character of persons who crowd so closely about an original thinker...and thus become imbued with a false originality,” exhibiting how he views the Transcendentalist movement as a group of people who, following “an original thinker” or Emerson, gain false and unoriginal ideas.
Henry David Thoreau is a famous writer. He was born in the 1800s. His hometown was small with a population of around two thousand. He went to Harvard in his grandfather’s footsteps. He studied literature and a few foreign languages.
Henry David Thoreau is one of the primary promoters of the transcendentalist movement and has been inspiring people to take on the transcendentalist lifestyle ever since the mid 1800’s. Mccandless was an admirer of Henry’s philosophy but he wasn’t as fully immersed in his work and ideals as Thoreau was to his own. His intentions were not as closely aligned to the movement as Thoreau’s and the difference between these icons are clearly visible. Self reliance is one of the most significant components of the transcendentalism movement that Henry David Thoreau contributed to in his literary career. “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.” - (taken from Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden”).
Henry David Thoreau, a lifetime resident of Concord, Massachusetts and a huge supporter of Transcendentalism has influenced countless lives due to his works of literature and his Transcendentalist values. His growing impact has been reached across the globe, and his writing has allowed Americans to create a style that was individual to themselves, though some of his writing contradicts this idea. Thoreau is a fault for putting numerous examples of Greek and Roman Mythology in his writing, and this directly goes against what the Transcendentalists wanted for themselves. Thoreau incorporated European values and ideas in his work, and these things should have been left back in Europe for the betterment of the American culture. As the main figure
The Transcendentalists believed in a Universal Being that existed in nature. When Emerson is in nature, it consumes him: “I become a transparent eye-ball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God” (Emerson 3). In Emerson’s mind, nature offers perpetual youth and joy, and counteracts whatever misfortune befalls an individual. The visionary man may lose himself in it, may become a receptive "transparent eyeball" through which the Universal Being transmits itself into his consciousness and makes him sense his oneness with God. Though Hawthorne believed in the same Universal Being, but in Hawthorne’s mind the Being was dark and mysterious, and lingered in the supernatural shadows.
Transcendentalism is the belief that man is inherently good, is an independent thinker, and goes out into nature to get in touch with himself. Generally, man has good intentions and intends no harm unto others. In addition, man does not need society to give him and develop his thoughts, as he already has them within. To help bring out these already installed beliefs, man has the desire to go out into nature to get in touch with himself and find deeper notions within. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s writings “Self Reliance” and “American Scholar”, he writes about how being a true individual means that one must have his own beliefs, and not copy someone else’s ideas.
Who are transcendentalists? Transcendentalists are people who supported the movement. It isn’t their religion, but just their way of thinking. A well-known transcendentalist was Ralph Waldo Emerson.
When people do not agree with society they can create a counterculture. A counterculture is a subculture that opposes mainstream ideas and values. Transcendentalism was a counterculture from the early 19th century that went against social norms of that time. The Beat movement was also a counterculture that had many similar aspects to Transcendentalism because they both disagreed with their societies. The Beat movement was started in the 1940’s and was made famous by the many authors and poets that developed the movement with their writing.
Transcendentalism, a philosophical and social movement, demonstrated how divinity spreads through all nature and humanity. One of the main ideals of transcendentalism, living simply and independently, define as the principle. In matters of financial and interpersonal relations, independence projects as more valuable than neediness. Henry david Thoreau elaborates on these transcendentalist ideals when he travels into the woods and writes an essay.
