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Transcendentalism: Ralph Waldo Emerson And Henry David Thoreau

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Transcendentalism Transcendentalism is a philosophy by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau which focuses on human rights and society’s negative impact on individuals. Transcendental beliefs are still found today in the modern world, whether people are aware of it or not. When reviewing any song or current movie, it is hard not to find these messages within them. Local musician Conor Oberst often sings about his dissatisfactions with society, which reflect many transcendental ideas. In fact, in 2008 Oberst even performed at rallies for our current president Barack Obama. He sang a controversial song entitled "When the president talks to god" which voiced America's brutally honest thoughts about George Bush's presidency. …show more content…

“Standing on the bare ground,--my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space,--all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or parcel of God.” He is saying in this that he sees himself as a part of the collective and believes that he is one with nature. He exists among everything and has complete understanding of his meaning. Likewise, Oberst also had a great revelation about the meaning of his life. “We must hang up in the belfry/Where the bats and moonlight laugh/We must stare into a crystal ball/And only see the past/And into the caverns of tomorrow/With just our flashlights and our love/We must plunge, we must plunge, we must plunge/And then we'll get down there/ Way down to the very bottom of everything/And then we'll see it, we'll see it, we'll see it/Oh my mornings coming back/The whole world's waking up/This city bus is swimming past/I'm happy just because/I found out that I am really no one” (Oberst).He is saying in these final lines that he has finally found solitude in death and his purpose in life, even though it has a sarcastic

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According to transcendentalists like Emerson, a person who follows intuition and remains faithful to personal vision will become a more moral, idealistic individual. For many of Emerson's contemporaries, including Henry David Thoreau and Amos Bronson Alcott, such a course of action resulted in an idealism that formed the basis for their actions, especially actions that undertook to critique and change what was perceived as evil in society. For example, Thoreau went to jail rather than pay taxes to support America's involvement in the Mexican War. Transcendentalism also provided one major philosophical foundation for the abolition of slavery. However, while individuals such as Emerson combined transcendentalism with spirituality, the essentially

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