Emersonian Individualism
Emerson's "transcendentalism" is essentially a romantic individualism, a philosophy of life for a new people who had overthrown their colonial governors and set about conquering a new continent by their own lights. Though Emerson is not a technical philosopher, the tendency of his thought is toward idealist metaphysics in which soul and intuition, or inspiration, are central. The new American experiment needed every idea within its reach. Taking a practical and democratic, yet poetic interest in all of nature and in individuals of every walk of life, Emerson stresses the potential for genius and creativity in all people. It is a source of creative insight within which Emerson identifies as divine. His praise for Plato can easily be found in his work. He says that "Mind is the only reality of which men and all other natures are better or worse reflectors." For Emerson, "intuition" is a poetic faculty of seeing things creatively. Nothing is possible within our distinctively human world without such creative insight and interpretation. Therefore, Emerson calls for us to always be prepared to listen to this voice within instead of conforming to societal pressures. The theme of Self-Reliance is an elaboration of this idealist the
Creative interpretation is not to be discouraged, and each person's genius should be developed as far as possible. This is the central meaning of American liberalism, and the critique of mere conformity is an important part of this. Yet an empirical and scientific emphasis is needed to counter balance the stress upon creativity. For while facts and perception do not dictate our interpretations of the world, they are often capable of deciding between them. Society is likened to a "joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread...to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater." This is his explanation of how people are seduced into ignoring their own insights and convictions, their own "culture," in order to better profit by their intercourse with society. Emerson warns of the seductions of society and supplies a moral counter-weight: "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind." It is better to make your own mistakes and suffer from them than to make the mistakes dictated by another and surrender oneself to dissolution in outside forces. me -- we are to follow our own lights. The Over-soul, "the only prophet of that which must be, is that great nature in which we rest." It is both "the act of seeing and the thing seen," and it creates our world in depth by means of our insight and interpretations. Emerson's great emphasis upon nonconformity and integrity shows that this Over-soul creates a world through individuals rather than through the commerce of groups. "Where we find beauty in a flower or a forest or a poem, meaning and direction, or deep understanding, the voice of "this deity" is speaking through us and creating the world around us by such means. This deity does not speak to groups but, in radical protestant style, to each person alone to the degree he or she attends to the message." The value Emerson attributes to the messages depends upon the Over-soul being "self-sufficing and perfect in every hour." nothing. Act singly, and what you have already done singly will justify you now." Society wants to impose government, rules, and law on its people so they can be puppet-like. Emerson proposes that men live based on their own ind
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Approximate Word count = 1499
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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