Argumentative Essay On Transcendentalism

Where can people find inner peace and wellness? Facebook users find advertisements for Transcendental Meditation as the answer. In the add, it says, “Transcendental meditation is a simple, natural technique... This form of meditation allows your body to settle into a state of profound rest and relaxation and your mind to achieve a state of inner peace, without needing to use concentration or effort” (www.tm.org). They made it sound as if this is some new technique, but transcendental ideas have existed for centuries! Transcendentalism is a literary, philosophical, and spiritual movement of the 1800’s that began around Boston and Concord, Massachusetts. The act originated from a German Philosopher, Immanuel Kant. The movement began when the
Transcendentalists have a general distrust of the government, and they believe any success that is achieved is due to the individual not the institution. Thoreau, in “Civil Disobedience,” suggests that one way to bring about change is to rebel. He states for people to, “Refuse to pay their quota into its treasury” (Thoreau). A Christians’ first allegiance is to Jesus; however, they are told by Jesus to pay taxes and obey government. It’s the Christian’s responsibility. The Pharisees, believing they had a question to trap Jesus, asked if it was lawful to pay a poll tax to Caesar. Mark 12:17 states, “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.’ And they were amazed at him” (biblehub). Additionally, Titus 3:1 says, “Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, and to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed” (biblehub). These examples have proven the distrust Transcendentals have towards
Transcendentalists believe that humans can transcend limits and reach astonishing heights. They say to follow your own mind and that intuition will lead the way. To exemplify, in Emerson’s poem, “Self-reliance, he says, “Trust thyself; every heart vibrates to that iron string.” This means that if people trust themselves, they can truly be content with whatever they do. Conversely, Christians know that the human heart is deceitful and cannot be trusted. All discouraging happenings in the world are a result of sinful hearts. The root problem of this is the lack of adequate concept of God and one’s self. Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him. And He will make your paths straight.” God wants Christians to use their reasoning but be willing to be corrected by God’s word and wise counselors, but not on our own as the transcendentalists would postulate. Christians oppose the transcendentalist’s belief of self-reliance because of humanities fallen