David Yang
AP Lang
Period 3/4
20 December 2014
Transcendentalism Throughout American History “People who lean on logic and philosophy and rational exposition end by starving the best part of the mind.” William Butler Yeats, a famed Irish poet, believed creativity and emotion did not stem from reason and logic. His words echoed the thoughts of the Romantics, a group of early nineteenth century writers, poets and artists who defied the ideas of the Age of Reason and sought to build a new, more personal and emotional, literary tradition. Romanticism was characterized by a love of nature, a focus on the individual, an enchantment with the supernatural, a longing for the beautiful and exotic, a strong idealism, and a fervent nationalism. Among …show more content…
The Unitarians combined Enlightenment ideology, specifically John Locke’s idea of empiricism, with Christianity. They believed one could understand the nature of the universe through reason and direct observation. The first Transcendentalists disagreed. They argued discovering truths about life necessitated personal effort toward a relationship with God. Contrary to the Unitarians, they believed true knowledge about the universe could only come from intuition found in the human mind and nature. Emerson explained Transcendentalists are those who display “ the tendency to respect the intuitions, and to give them [...] all authority over our experience (Emerson).” He found more power in intuition than in experience. This concept comes from German philosopher Immanuel Kant, who maintained humans cannot directly comprehend experiences through empirical means. In fact, the very name “Transcendentalism” has its origins in Kant’s work. He coined the term “transcendental” when he declared, “I call all knowledge transcendental which is concerned not with objects but with our mode of knowing objects.” Because Transcendentalists are concerned with the way our intuition helps us understand life, their movement adopted the name. Kant was only one of Transcendentalism’s many influences. Its teachings also drew from religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. Hinduism clearly influenced Emerson’s idea of the “Over-soul.” Emerson believed everyone is part of a higher power known as the “Over-soul” This is similar to Brahman in Hinduism. Thoreau also directly references the Vedas in Walden. Buddhism, too, was a source of inspiration for Transcendentalists. Their strong disapproval of materialism and industrialism in society likely had its roots in Buddhist practices. Their abhorrence of materialism and industrialism may have also been a
AP Lang
Period 3/4
20 December 2014
Transcendentalism Throughout American History “People who lean on logic and philosophy and rational exposition end by starving the best part of the mind.” William Butler Yeats, a famed Irish poet, believed creativity and emotion did not stem from reason and logic. His words echoed the thoughts of the Romantics, a group of early nineteenth century writers, poets and artists who defied the ideas of the Age of Reason and sought to build a new, more personal and emotional, literary tradition. Romanticism was characterized by a love of nature, a focus on the individual, an enchantment with the supernatural, a longing for the beautiful and exotic, a strong idealism, and a fervent nationalism. Among …show more content…
The Unitarians combined Enlightenment ideology, specifically John Locke’s idea of empiricism, with Christianity. They believed one could understand the nature of the universe through reason and direct observation. The first Transcendentalists disagreed. They argued discovering truths about life necessitated personal effort toward a relationship with God. Contrary to the Unitarians, they believed true knowledge about the universe could only come from intuition found in the human mind and nature. Emerson explained Transcendentalists are those who display “ the tendency to respect the intuitions, and to give them [...] all authority over our experience (Emerson).” He found more power in intuition than in experience. This concept comes from German philosopher Immanuel Kant, who maintained humans cannot directly comprehend experiences through empirical means. In fact, the very name “Transcendentalism” has its origins in Kant’s work. He coined the term “transcendental” when he declared, “I call all knowledge transcendental which is concerned not with objects but with our mode of knowing objects.” Because Transcendentalists are concerned with the way our intuition helps us understand life, their movement adopted the name. Kant was only one of Transcendentalism’s many influences. Its teachings also drew from religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. Hinduism clearly influenced Emerson’s idea of the “Over-soul.” Emerson believed everyone is part of a higher power known as the “Over-soul” This is similar to Brahman in Hinduism. Thoreau also directly references the Vedas in Walden. Buddhism, too, was a source of inspiration for Transcendentalists. Their strong disapproval of materialism and industrialism in society likely had its roots in Buddhist practices. Their abhorrence of materialism and industrialism may have also been a