Walden | Historical Context
New England Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism took root in New England in the mid-1830s in reaction against the rationalism (emphasis on intellectual understanding) of the Unitarian Church. The philosophy centered on the premise that divine truth is present in all things and that truth, or God, is known through intuition, not through the rational mind. From this core proceeded the belief that all of nature, including all humans, is one with God.
The term ‘‘transcendental’’ was borrowed from German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), who wrote in his...
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