Book of Concord

One of the most influential and prominent times of the American history was the Transcendentalist period. Transcendentalism was a philosophical movement that developed in the late 1800s. Transcendentalists believed in many aspects, however their central ideas focused on the inherent goodness of both people and nature. Influential Transcendentalists included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Frederic Henry Hedge. They believed that that the purity of the individual could be corrupted…

One of the most unique and dedicated thinkers of all time, Henry David Thoreau was obsessed with the idealism of transcendentalist philosophy. In fact, he actually tested his beliefs at Walden Pond, making himself a living example of the contemporary movement. Transcendentalism, a branch of social reform in the mid-1800’s, stressed human divinity and the importance of nature and intuition. Rejecting indulgences and extravagance, Thoreau sought to purify society by bringing it back to its roots.…

Influence on Nature Nature is all around us. How people choose to treat the nature is up to them, as well as how they choose to perceive it. Transcendentalism is the belief that in order to learn more about oneself, they must go beyond themselves and what they think. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau both have very similar ideas about nature and how people treat it in their everyday lives. Both Emerson and Thoreau both believe people can’t own nature, all of our actions affect nature…

Transcendentalism was a movement in philosophy, literature and religion that emerged in the nineteenth century to have originated from New England. The popular movement flourished in America after the American and Industrial Revolution. The philosophical movement expressed and reformed a new way of ideas that changed the way man understood their beliefs, along with knowing where their place is in the world while the society was changing. Transcendental philosophy as well saw that nature…

Well known essayist, lecturer and poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his text, “Self Reliance”, asserts that each individual should avoid conformity and follow his/her own ideologies to achieve a more enriched life. Emerson’s purpose is to impress upon the reader the idea that they should not conform their lives to the ideology of society; rather they should pursue their own individual paths consisting of their own actions and ideas. He utilizes an encouraging tone to express to the readers that it…

deliberate lifestyle. A lifestyle of a transcendentalist. Thoreau left the woods because it was his time to live other lives and experience other experiences. He has done what he needed to do at Walden. Ending his journey at Walden didn’t mean ending the book of his life. It meant opening a chapter and creating new paths. His goal was to connect with nature so he can connect with God. He has done the best he could, and he didn’t let anyone bring him down. That’s what you are supposed to do;…

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a 19th-century American Transcendentalist poet, philosopher, and essayist that has shaped America’s society as it is known today. To most he has been the primary figure in American thought since the Colonial time period. Emerson’s philosophies were based on the human reliance on intuition to understand reality. He had an optimistic view on life and has inspired millions of people to think deeper and reflect on themselves through his literature. Emerson was born on May 25…

Henry Thoreau and Ralph Emerson both present strong morals in their essays. Thoreau completely cuts himself off from society for two years. In these two years he learned that people are too materialistic, and believes people do not understand what is truly important. He thinks that we are living how society tells us too rather than understanding what we are actually doing. While Emerson never completely disconnected from civilization, he also conveys ideas about the importance of not being a…

In “Walden” Henry David Thoreau he describes his two year experiment on living with only the bare necessities of life. One of the themes of this story is “Economy”, he describes how he lived working and spending money on only the minimum to survive, and in the process he explains how he became spiritually free in the process. A work we read in class that had many similarities to “Walden” was, “A Way to Wealth” by Benjamin Franklin, he tackles many of the same viewpoints and beliefs about the…

Scottish Enlightenment In his book, Reading the Scottish Enlightenment: Books and Their Readers in Provincial Scotland, author Mark R.M. Towsey set out to discover the history of reading and how popular books by the likes of David Hume and William Robertson were received in 18th century Scotland. Towsey delves into historical library catalogues in hopes to uncover the impact that certain books had on readers lives and personal beliefs in order to gain perspective on how readers from different…