Transcendentalism and Marxism Philosophies Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Essay on Nature,” and Terry Eagleton’s Essay on “What is Literature” both show different styles of writing and different philosophies. Emerson being a transcendentalist sought it through intuition and creativity which showed in his writing. Eagleton being a Marxist showed through his works class struggle, materialism, and empiricism. Both Marxists and transcendentalists seek an exemplary world, free of the chains of established religions and the limitations of the class which makes them similar. Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in the early 1800s to a fairly religious family with his father being a Unitarian minister until his death when Emerson was only 8. Emerson soon went
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This happens through free will and intuition. Emerson writing style is very clear, direct and has a careful progression from one idea to the next, and difficult concepts are elucidated through metaphors. “Emerson rhetorical style builds up to peaks of language and emotion” (Emerson’s writing). In Emerson’s “Essay on Nature,” Emerson talks about the harmony between humans and nature. He believes that nature provides an individual's material needs and that it disciplines one's mind. Emerson states “We must accept the knowledge and traditions of the past instead of experiencing God and nature directly, in the present” (Emerson Nature). Emerson asserts that “all of our questions about the order of the universe, and about the relationship between God, man, and nature may be answered by our experience of life and the world around us” (Emerson Nature). Emerson is showing that true solitude is going out into nature and leaving behind all distracting and preoccupying activities so one can truly experience …show more content…
Emerson is a transcendentalist, “whose core beliefs was an ideal spiritual state that “transcends” the physical and empirical view of the world and is only realized through the individual’s intuition rather than through the doctrines of established religions” (Transcendentalism and Marxism). This intuition serves as the foundation of all creativity, art, and insights. The word transcendentalism came from a philosopher Immanuel Kant, who stated: “all knowledge transcendental which is concerned not with objects but with our mode of knowing objects” (Transcendentalism and Marxism). Transcendentalism is a philosophy based on his statement that some ideas such as morality and divinity are not directly experienced, but they still influence us and can still add to our empirical
This happens through free will and intuition. Emerson writing style is very clear, direct and has a careful progression from one idea to the next, and difficult concepts are elucidated through metaphors. “Emerson rhetorical style builds up to peaks of language and emotion” (Emerson’s writing). In Emerson’s “Essay on Nature,” Emerson talks about the harmony between humans and nature. He believes that nature provides an individual's material needs and that it disciplines one's mind. Emerson states “We must accept the knowledge and traditions of the past instead of experiencing God and nature directly, in the present” (Emerson Nature). Emerson asserts that “all of our questions about the order of the universe, and about the relationship between God, man, and nature may be answered by our experience of life and the world around us” (Emerson Nature). Emerson is showing that true solitude is going out into nature and leaving behind all distracting and preoccupying activities so one can truly experience …show more content…
Emerson is a transcendentalist, “whose core beliefs was an ideal spiritual state that “transcends” the physical and empirical view of the world and is only realized through the individual’s intuition rather than through the doctrines of established religions” (Transcendentalism and Marxism). This intuition serves as the foundation of all creativity, art, and insights. The word transcendentalism came from a philosopher Immanuel Kant, who stated: “all knowledge transcendental which is concerned not with objects but with our mode of knowing objects” (Transcendentalism and Marxism). Transcendentalism is a philosophy based on his statement that some ideas such as morality and divinity are not directly experienced, but they still influence us and can still add to our empirical