Transcendentalism

TRANSCENDENTALISM. I love it. We studied it in American Lit last year and it was an extremely fun unit! Except... I don't really remember exactly what it was. So I just looked it up, and I was surprised to find that, according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, it was centered around Ralph Waldo Emerson! This actually made me extremely excited, because I love when obscure things from my classes connect to other parts of my life (even though looking up transcendentalism was part of AP Comp, as was reading Emerson.) It was stimulated, apparently, by the Romantic movements in England and Germany, which focused on the beauty of nature and rejected the idea of pure logic and reason that was popularized by the Enlightenment, Biblical criticism, and skepticism. All of this makes me so happy that I took AP Euro, because I actually remember learning about all of this stuff! Transcendentalists criticized the conformity of their society & urged individuals to find their own individual relationship to the world.

So, what do I think about transcendentalism? Well, besides the fact that I love studying it, I think that it's a really cool philosophy to live by. I think that it's great that they believe that everyone has their own individual relationship to the earth. It makes every individual seem very important, but also allows people to see the importance of every other individual, so that even if they do believe in their own importance, they still don't let it get to their heads. Emerson's essay seemed to reflect a lot of the ideals of transcendentalism, especially the idea of individuality, which he calls "self-reliance." In our discussion today, we were talking about the difference between the common use of the term and what Emerson meant by it. In our world today, we think of "self-reliance" as economically and physically supporting oneself. But Emerson meant it more as relying on your own ideas and beliefs, and not feeling the need to conform to what society dictates as right.

I think that idea can really apply to life today, especially as a teenager. In everything from grades to fashion, high schoolers are encouraged to be the same as everyone else. There are those who don't conform to the standards, but most do. And, Emerson would say, this is just destroying their individuality. He encourages people to embrace their own individuality, and also believes that each person has a preordained path that they're supposed to follow. By failing to embrace their own thoughts and opinions, people lose sight of what they're supposed to do (as specified by the Creator.)

Thoreau also had some great ideas that can relate to life today. The idea of simplifying life can completely apply to life today. In the age of electronics, it's easy to get caught up in the latest news, gossip, crises, or technology. But, as Thoreau says in his essay, sometimes all we need to do is focus on one or two things. Then we can really see the true meaning of life, and just live.

I don't really know if this blog post will make sense. It seems kind of disjointed. But isn't that the idea of transcendentalism? Standards don't really matter as long as you stand up for your own ideas. And I think I managed to do that in this blog.

I guess I'll end with a quote that I really like by Thoreau, though it doesn't really relate to this post.

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion."