Transcendentalism!

1. Transcendentalism!

2. Transcendentalism • Historical Perspective • Sought to create literary independence….and spiritual independence • Westward Expansion prevalent • Social reforms prioritized (abolition of slavery, education, women’s rights) • Movement during the American Renaissance which included educated people. • Population movement from rural to urban areas • Time of Social Reforms ( peaceful)

3. TranscendentalismMajor Elements • The Individual • The structure of the universe literally duplicates the structure of the individual’s self • Know Thyself!!!!!!!!!! • An individual’s virtue and happiness depends upon Self Realization. • Power is to be obtained by defying fate/predestination • It is foolish to worry about consistency…

4. TranscendentalismMajor Elements • The Individual…..Self Reliance • For completion of Self..must have full understanding of emotional, sexual and psychological to achieve freedom/liberation. • Mandala:self is most accurately itself when all four parts in equal balance Ego Ego-emerging self • Anima Animas Anima=femaleAnimus=male Shadow Shadow=darker side of self

5. TranscendentalismMajor Concepts • Nature • Nature is symbolic…..pantheistic • Oversoul • Chathonic: “of the earth” born of dust, return to dust • God can be found in nature and human nature • Transcendentalism is a form of Idealism • Evil is Negative…Light (goodness) is more powerful than dark

6. TranscendentalismMajor Elements • Spiritual • The intuitive faculty(not rationality or sensory) becomes the means of conscious union of the individual psyche ( Oversoul) • An individual is the spiritual center of the universe • Individual may transcend lower animalistic impulses of life..moving from the instinctual or rational to the spiritual realm • The human soul is part of the oversoul/universal spirit • Oversoul/Life Force/God can be found everywhere • God can be found in nature and human nature • Focus on this life..not aferlife • Know God through intuition…nature • Death is a part of the cycle of life

7. Transcendentalism • Oversoul • Source of all good • Atma: each individual soul is made of the same stuff…from the same stuff..univeral, world soul. • “She did not go someplace…not away. She went out…everywhere.” • Interconnection of all humanity

8. Jungian Collective Unconscious Experiences that all humans share regardless of time, culture, religion (archetypes). Goes beyond human experience... Transcend!!!!!!!!!! Freud (just to compare) Oversoul

9. Transcendentalism • Influences: • Plato: idealism according to which reality subsists beyond the appearances of the world..that the world is an expression of spirit or mind..and IS GOOD. • Immanual Kant: belief in the “native spontaneity of the mind”…rather than the passivity of John Locke • Puritanism: ethical seriousness and (Edwards) suggestion that one can receive divine light immediately and directly. • Eastern Philosophy (Hinduism): • Impersonal, universal god who is omniscient, but not judgmental • no good or bad….just is ( no Original Sin) • Consciousness (not physicality) is focus • Use intuition • Cannot have spiritual experience through another..must obtain individually throught the self

10. Transcendentalism • Ralph Waldo Emerson • Expressed the advantages of a young land with its freedom, “innocence”, and access to laws directly through nature, not books. • Appealed to both intellectuals and the general public • Emphasized the connections between humans, nature and higher order • Emerson’s work is “plain” on surface, yet has depth and substance • Set up as collection of thoughts and memories, not organized essays • “I am a poet” • Born into cultured, but poor family who were religiously based. • Studied to be minister, but felt disbelief at central doctrines • Traveled to Europe…enlightened • Formed the Transcendental Club • After death of his son, Waldo, Emerson shrank from society

11. Emerson • Transcendental beliefs • Denied the importance of the past on present and future situations • Individual men and women were part of the “idea of man” • Since all things are connected to a larger whole, even the commonest matters could open a door to the eternal • Rejection of institutional religion in favor of a personal relation with God • God always close and reveals Self everywhere and at all times • Within each individual lies a divinity that allows human intuition to behold God’s spirit in nature • Correspondence between natural law and moral law by use of intuition allows humans to see God’s laws revealed ( in nature).

12. Transcendentalism • Henry David Thoreau Self “un-made” man • Born in Concord, Mass. In 1817 to a successful family • Grew up hiking through the woods of Concord • Graduated from Harvard as an above average student with a rebellious streak. • Stayed at Walden Pond for nearly two years to reflect upon his life and live it simply and close to nature. • Helped fugitive slaves make their way to Canada • Protested the Mexican War…refused to pay his taxes (which would support it) • spent night in jail • Moved back to family house to live the rest of his life. • Supported himself by doing odd jobs…masonry, carpentry, etc… • Died of Tuberculosis • “Henry, have you made peace with God?” “Why, Aunt, I didn’t know we had quarreled.”

13. Thoreau • Transcendental Beliefs • Believed that the epic journey of his day was inward…to live close to nature and live simply to rediscover integrity and greatness. • Looked to nature for a model of life and writing because it contained spiritual truth and reality • Possessed by a vision of perfect freedom in which one is their own master • Life, as much of his writing, is Paradoxical. • One needed conscience and the need for action to maintain it • Disliked hyprocisy