Sample Student Research Project 2016: Journal
LITR
4328 American Renaissance / Model Assignments
Sample Student Research Project 2016:
Journal
Ali
Judd
20
November, 2016
Exploring Transcendentalism
Introduction
Before I ever took this class, I had already been somewhat familiar with
the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson. However, when we read
Nature in class, I was immediately
captivated by the beautiful way Emerson described the natural world. Having been
interested in Buddhism and New Age philosophies for quite a while,
Transcendentalism really seemed to grab my attention and I wanted to learn more.
I read Nature in full on my own, and
decided I wanted to delve further into Transcendentalism and see what I would
discover. In this journal I will share some of the history of Transcendentalism,
explore its Eastern influences, and discuss some of the key figures of the
movement.
The
History of Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism sprouted from the Unitarian branch of Christianity in
the early 1800s. Unitarianism was the predominant denomination in New England at
the time, and was seen as the ultimate religion for the intellectual man.
However, some felt as though something was lacking in Unitarianism, which
sparked the beginning of the Transcendentalist movement. Although the early
Transcendentalists left Unitarianism, the denomination itself was partly the
cause of the rebellion, because “by opening the door wide to the exercise of the
intellect and free consciousness, and encouraging the individual in his quest
for divine meaning, Unitarians had unwittingly sowed the seeds of the
Transcendentalist ‘revolt’” (Finseth).
Eastern Influence on Western Thought
While Transcendentalism sprung up from a very liberal Christian
denomination, there is no doubt that many of the influential figures within the
movement were also influenced by ancient Eastern religion and philosophy. The
teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (also known as the Buddha) and Confucius were
read by Emerson and Thoreau, amongst others (Peck). This Eastern influence was
obvious in some of the key tenets of Transcendentalism that were shared amongst
most of the American Transcendentalists. The following list is some of those
tenets, taken directly from Dr. Augustus Kolich of Saint Xavier University:
1.
The
Transcendentalist rises above the lower animalistic impulses in life, as well as
the cultural restrictions of society, and moves from the rational to a spiritual
realm.
2.
God
or the Life Force in the universe can be found everywhere, thus no need for
churches or holy places.
3.
God
can be found in both nature and human nature. God is not a super human being but a
spirit in us all.
4.
Every
person possesses "intuition," an essentialist understanding of right and wrong
(moral action).
These
concepts are very closely related to some of the teachings and beliefs of
Eastern philosophy. The Transcendentalists also drew from such pantheistic
religions as Hinduism and Taoism, which is obvious in their God being present in
all of nature.
Incompatibility with Christianity
Transcendentalism differed significantly from Western Christianity due to the
rejection of “original sin.” One of the core beliefs of Transcendentalism is
that all humans are inherently good, but that they have become corrupt because
of societal influences. This is why the movement was so closely tied to nature
and the natural world. If one can escape the society that is the root of human
corruption, then man would be able to live according to the ways of goodness
that is his nature. To the Transcendentalists, God shows himself through the
natural world. Emerson expressed this beautifully in his essay
Nature when he says, “If the stars
should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore;
and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had
been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the
universe with their admonishing smile.” According to Emerson, we see God through
nature every day, but we’ve become so far removed to the point where we do not
recognize that anymore. To the Transcendentalists, nature is the essence of God,
therefore humans can get closer to God by spending time in nature; but because
humans are also part of creation, the omniscient can also be found in each
person. As Emerson wrote, “I am part or parcel of God.”
Biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson
The most influential figure in the Transcendentalist movement, Ralph
Waldo Emerson was born in Boston on May 25, 1803. As a young man, he went to
Harvard Divinity School and later became a Unitarian minister. After a few
years, Emerson began to find fault within the church and was very vocal about
the things he disagreed with. This caused problems between him and other members
of the clergy, and he decided to resign from his job in the ministry. Emerson
then began traveling around Europe, and while there he met William Wordsworth
and Thomas Carlyle, two figures who would end up being very influential in his
life.
Because of his background in the church, Emerson drew from Unitarianism
as the basis of his personal beliefs. However, he was also fond of the German
philosopher Immanuel Kant, and was influenced by his writings. In 1836, Emerson
published his first essay titled Nature.
Emerson believed that God existed in all things, and could be understood by
interacting with the natural world. His views were very controversial at the
time and caused many Protestants to turn against him and dismiss his writings as
heretical.
Emerson met Henry David Thoreau in 1837, and the two men began a
friendship that would last until Thoreau’s death. Thoreau became Emerson’s
protégé, and another major figure in the Transcendentalist movement. Emerson
continued to publish many essays, and later in his life, he began traveling
around New England giving lectures. He had much success as a lecturer, and
continued it through the late years of his life.
Although he continued to remain active, Emerson’s health, both physical
and mental, started to get worse around 1867. He began to have severe memory
issues, but continued to publish essays and give lectures. He published his last
work in 1874, titled Parnassus. In
1879, he gave his last lecture, and his health began to rapidly decline from
there until his death on April 27, 1882. Although the Transcendentalist movement
did not continue long after his death, his essays continued to influence many
other well-known philosophers and writers.
Biography of Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord on July 12, 1817. As a young man,
he attended Harvard College and later became a teacher, even starting his own
grammar school in 1838. Thoreau was not a notable figure until he met Emerson,
who encouraged him to publish some of his writings and influenced his growth as
a philosopher. In 1845, Thoreau began living in a house he had built on some of
Emerson’s land near a body of water called Walden Pond. He lived completely cut
off from the outside world, fending for himself and living a minimalist
lifestyle. He lived this way for two years, allowing him to focus on his writing
and introspection. He went on to write about his experience in his most famous
work titled Walden.
Thoreau later traveled across the United States, and his travels inspired
him to write and publish several more books. Thoreau was fascinated with travel
and exploration, and readily consumed information about other lands and
cultures. Like Emerson, Thoreau was heavily influenced by pantheistic Eastern
philosophy, and incorporated it into his own beliefs. He strongly believed that
God was not one being, but that God was found in everything on earth.
On May 6, 1862, Thoreau passed away from complications due to
tuberculosis and bronchitis. Emerson, his friend until death, delivered the
eulogy at Thoreau’s funeral. Although Thoreau’s writings had little impact while
he was alive, they went on to influence many famous authors such as William
Butler Yeats and Ernest Hemingway, and even significant people outside of
literature, such as the psychologist B. F. Skinner.
Review of Related Websites
When writing this journal, I had some difficulty finding in-depth
information on the details of Transcendentalism. I did, however, come across two
wonderful resources that I took much of my information from. The first of these
is the “Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy” entry titled “American
Transcendentalism.” This source had a lot of information about the different
influences on Transcendentalism, and discussed in-depth some of the problems
that occurred within the movement.
http://www.iep.utm.edu/am-Trans/
Another of my main sources was an excerpt from a thesis titled ‘"Liquid
Fire Within Me’: Language, Self and
Society in Transcendentalism and Early Evangelicalism, 1820-1860” by Ian
Frederick Finseth, Ph.D. This thesis was incredibly helpful to me in writing my
journal. Finseth discussed the history of Transcendentalism in more depth than I
found in many other web resources, and clearly described their commonly held
beliefs. The information was very accurate, detailed, and precise.
http://thoreau.eserver.org/amertran.html
Exploring Transcendentalism: Conclusion
I had
a wonderful time studying the rise of the Transcendentalists, and the foundation
of their beliefs. The subject strongly appealed to my interest in philosophy and
religion, specifically Eastern religions. Aside from the philosophy, it was also
interesting to see how many of my favorite writers were influenced by the
movement, such as Ernest Hemingway and Walt Whitman. I would like to do more
research and see how some of the influential thinkers of the New Age movement,
such as Carl Jung, were influenced by the writings of Transcendentalists. There
are obvious similarities between the two movements, such as divine intelligence
and the presence of God/energy in all things. The use of holistic health
practices is also shared between the two, as things such as meditation and yoga
were discussed by both Emerson and Thoreau. Eastern religious, spiritual, and
philosophical influence is also very present in both.
Over
all, I feel like I learned a lot from my research, and it has inspired me to
continue in my personal search for truth and self-improvement. While a lot of
the aspects of Transcendentalism would be considered “far out,” I do believe
there is some merit to the concept of God being present and available through
the natural world (if your personal beliefs are compatible with that). I will
also now be able to draw parallels between the things I learned through my
research and works that I will read in the future.
Bibliography
Brodrick, Michael. "American Transcendentalism." Internet Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Web. 20 Nov. 2016. <
http://www.iep.utm.edu/am-Trans/>
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Nature. Orig.
1836, Web. 20 Nov. 2016.
<http://www.emersoncentral.com/nature1.htm
>
Finseth, Ian Frederick. "American Transcendentalism." American
Transcendentalism. 1995. Web.
20 Nov. 2016. <
http://thoreau.eserver.org/amertran.html>
Furtak, Rick Anthony. “Henry David Thoreau.”
Stanford University. Stanford
University, 2005. Web. 20 Nov. 2016. <
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/thoreau/ >
Goodman, Russell. "Transcendentalism." Stanford University. Stanford
University, 2003. Web. 20 Nov. 2016. <
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/Transcendentalism/>
Kolich, Augustus. “American Transcendentalism: Major Tenets.”
2008. Web. 20 Nov. 2016. <
http://english.sxu.edu/~kolich/Transcendentalism.html>
McAleer, John J. Ralph Waldo Emerson: Days of Encounter. Boston: Little,
Brown, 1984. Print.
Richardson, Robert D. Emerson: The Mind on Fire: A Biography. Berkeley: U
of California, 1995. Print.
"Great Star" flag of pre-Civil War USA