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How did transcendentalism emerge in the early nineteenth century?
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Transcendentalism emerged in the early nineteenth century as a reaction to Enlightenment rationalism and institutionalized religion, influenced by Romanticism's emphasis on intuition and individual spiritual experience. Rooted in Concord, Massachusetts, with figures like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, it emphasized the inherent goodness of individuals and nature as a reflection of the divine. It drew from Greek idealism and Puritanism, advocating for personal connection to God and valuing intuition over reason.
Transcendentalism did indeed emerge as a reaction to the Enlightenment; paradoxically, it was also a product of it. The Enlightenment's radical individualism inadvertently encouraged religious movements such as Methodism in England, Pietism in Germany, and Unitarianism in the United States, all of which laid great stress upon the individual moral conscience and the subjective experience of the believer. Such an attitude found ready acceptance in the United States, with its long-standing tradition of individualism, both political and religious.
Transcendentalists were able to tap into the traditional American distrust of institutions to affirm the natural goodness of the individual, free from the allegedly corrupting influence of government and society, both of which they deemed artificial. This was perfectly in keeping with the political values articulated by the Declaration of Independence, which famously states that "all men are created equal," implying that there's a natural state of equality which is then subsequently...
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distorted by manmade institutions, such as state churches and governments.
Transcendentalism emerged as a literary, philosophical, and intellectual movement in the Romantic tradition. It arose in reaction to the intellectualism and spirituality of its age.
The Transcendental movement began in Concord, Massachusetts, the home of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, the leading exponents of this philosophy. The basic tenets of Transcendentalism are as follows:
- A belief that God is omnipresent. He is present in every aspect of Nature, as well as in every human being.
- The belief that every human being can apprehend God through the use of intuition.
- The belief that everything in Nature is reflective of the divine spirit.
Transcendentalism was formed in part from the philosophy of Greek idealism and partly from Puritanism and its notion of high purpose. Idealists contend that reality lies in rational ideas, rather than senses. Idealists also believe in human perfectibility. Transcendentalists view nature as a doorway to a mystical world holding important truths.
Transcendentalism emerged from the Romanticism of the nineteenth century which valued feeling and intuition over reason. Just as Romanticism placed faith in the inner experiences of a person and the power of the imagination, Transcendentalism put much faith in intuition and the spiritual experiences that a person has in the presence of Nature.
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote that when he was in the presence of Nature,
Its effect is like that of a higher thought or a better emotion coming over me, when I deemed I was thinking justly or doing right.