“Self Reliance”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
What do you think? What kind of impact did this essay have on you?• Share reactions
Which does Emerson value more – original thought or traditional
wisdom?• He values original thought.
• “imitation is suicide”
• “Whose would be a man, must be a nonconformist”
According to Emerson, which virtue does society demand most – truth,
conformity, creativity, or self-reliance?
• Conformity
• “For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure”
What is the only law that Emerson says can be sacred to him?
• His own nature
• “No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature”
• Emerson believed in the basic goodness of humans, that they would do the right thing if given the chance to make their own decisions.
Summarize Emerson’s main ideas
• Do your own thing – “imitation is suicide”
• Trust your own ideas – “Trust thyself”– “Whoso would be a man must be a
nonconformist”– “No law can be sacred to me but that of my
nature”– “What I must do is all that concerns me”
Summarize Emerson’s main ideas (cont.)
• It’s hard to be a nonconformist– “For nonconformity the world whips you”– “the great man is he who in the midst of the
crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude
• Don’t let consistency keep you from trusting yourself– “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little
minds”
Describe parts of your own life in which Emerson’s ideas might apply• Nonconformity
• Disregard for consistency
• Peer pressure
If you had heard this essay as a public lecture, what questions would you have liked to ask Emerson directly about his
philosophy?
Bonus: identify at least two aphorisms from this essay.
Transcendentalist Literature Chart
Self-reliance/intuition
• Title: “Self-Reliance”
• “Trust thyself”
• “No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature”
Importance of nature
• Human nature
• “No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature”
Free thought and expression
• “Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist”
• “Speak what you think now in hard words and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again”
Importance of individual/nonconformity
• “Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist.”
• “What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think.”
• “…the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude….”
Confidence
• “Speak what you think now in hard words and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said today.”