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TRANSCRIPT
Transcendentalism An Introduction
Vocabulary List 1
� AVERSION – (n) Object arousing an intense or definite dislike
� SUFFRAGE – (n) Vote or voting
What is Transcendentalism?
� 1830s -1860s new ideas shaped new ways of thinking in America
� Search for a truth – true at all times and in all places
� Spiritual truth can be found in the physical world
� Individuals have the ability to experience this truth in a personal way
� Not a formal philosophy or religion, but an intellectual movement
Transcendentalism
� Belief in a personal divinity; a version of divinity could be found in each person
� “Human” nature was connected to “wild” nature
� Reaction to New England Calvinism/Puritanism
Universal Spirit
� Divine energy in all living things
� God, nature, and humanity share a universal soul called the Over-Soul
Self-Reliance/Intuition
� People should trust their own hearts and morals
� He advised trust in one’s intuition, the source of which was God
� Each person is the ultimate determiner of Truth
� Through intuition we can transcend (go beyond) senses and reason
Self and Society
� People possess the natural capacity for good
� Individuals have to reform themselves before reforming society
� Nature was a means of communing with God, or the Over-Soul
Ralph Waldo Emerson
� Father of Transcendentalism
� Influenced by western and eastern thought and philosophy
� Emphasized the value of the individual
� Concepts of Nature and the Self were prominent
� People influenced by Emerson’s writings and lectures became the leaders of social reforms: abolition of slavery, women’s rights, education
Ralph Waldo Emerson
� From New England
� Former Unitarian minister but gave it up after his wife died
� Two of his most famous essays are “Nature and “Self-Reliance”
VOCABULARY LIST 2
SUPERFLUOUS
� ADJECTIVE � Excessive; not necessary
EVITABLE
� ADJECTIVE � Avoidable
MAGNANIMITY
� NOUN � Generosity
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
� From Concord, Mass.
� Was eccentric even as a child
� Rarely followed rules
� Attended Concord Academy and later Harvard
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
� From 1845-47 lived in a cabin he built
� Walden Pond (he was on Emerson’s property)
Walden Pond
Thoreau’s cabin
Famous Words
“Civil Disobedience”
� Thoreau objected to the Mexican American War (1846-48)
� Refused to pay his taxes
� Forced to spend a night in jail