Man's Relationship with Nature: Transcendentalism
Ms. Clark
U.S. History 1 H
23 April 2013 Man’s Relationship with Nature
Transcendentalism is a literary and philosophical movement of the early 1800’s. Transcendentalists operated with a sense that a new era was coming, they were critics of their modern society for its thoughtless traditionalism, and they advised people to find “an original relation to the universe” (Emerson). “The Transcendentalist adopts the whole connection of spiritual doctrine. He believes in miracle, in the perpetual openness of the human mind to new influx of light and power; he believes in inspiration, and in ecstasy”(Emerson). To do this people must live simply and make the best of their life situations while not passing judgments on others. Nature’s role in helping man find peace and happiness is the key to living a fulfilled life in harmony with the universe. Transcendentalist such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau firmly state that man’s relationship with nature are interdependent, and that in order for man to live a fulfilled life he must respect nature.
Although it is hard to determine exactly when transcendentalism began, a probable date is September 19, 1836 (Hankins, 23), when George Ripley, a Unitarian minister from Boston called a meeting with his friends: Bronson Alcott, Orestes Brownson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederic Hedge, Convers Francis, and James Freeman Clarke. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the flaws of Unitarianism (Hankins, 23). Members called their group “symposium” and met four to five times a year for the next several. As future meetings became well known in Boston, the public began to refer to them as the “Transcendentalist Club”, and the name stuck (Hankins, 24). Others joined the group and eventually became regulars including Henry David Thoreau, Sophia Ripley, Caleb Stetson, Margaret Fuller, Elizabeth Peabody, and Theodore Parker. Defining transcendentalism was no easy task. Unitarianism influenced nearly all
U.S. History 1 H
23 April 2013 Man’s Relationship with Nature
Transcendentalism is a literary and philosophical movement of the early 1800’s. Transcendentalists operated with a sense that a new era was coming, they were critics of their modern society for its thoughtless traditionalism, and they advised people to find “an original relation to the universe” (Emerson). “The Transcendentalist adopts the whole connection of spiritual doctrine. He believes in miracle, in the perpetual openness of the human mind to new influx of light and power; he believes in inspiration, and in ecstasy”(Emerson). To do this people must live simply and make the best of their life situations while not passing judgments on others. Nature’s role in helping man find peace and happiness is the key to living a fulfilled life in harmony with the universe. Transcendentalist such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau firmly state that man’s relationship with nature are interdependent, and that in order for man to live a fulfilled life he must respect nature.
Although it is hard to determine exactly when transcendentalism began, a probable date is September 19, 1836 (Hankins, 23), when George Ripley, a Unitarian minister from Boston called a meeting with his friends: Bronson Alcott, Orestes Brownson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederic Hedge, Convers Francis, and James Freeman Clarke. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the flaws of Unitarianism (Hankins, 23). Members called their group “symposium” and met four to five times a year for the next several. As future meetings became well known in Boston, the public began to refer to them as the “Transcendentalist Club”, and the name stuck (Hankins, 24). Others joined the group and eventually became regulars including Henry David Thoreau, Sophia Ripley, Caleb Stetson, Margaret Fuller, Elizabeth Peabody, and Theodore Parker. Defining transcendentalism was no easy task. Unitarianism influenced nearly all