Transcendentalism: Philosophy, Beliefs and Founder

Transcendentalism was an American literary movement that emphasized the importance and equality of the individual. It began in the 1830s in America and was heavily influenced by German philosophers including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Immanuel Kant, as well as English writers such as William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The Romantic movement gave rise to New England Transcendentalism, which showed a less restrictive relationship between God and the universe. The publication of Ralph Waldo Emerson's 1836 essay Nature at Watershed Moments on Common Assumption that Reciprocity became a major cultural movement. The new philosophy presented the individual with a more personal relationship with God. Transcendentalism and Romanticism appealed, like the Americans, to feelings attributed to reason, free freedom of expression over the restraint of tradition and tradition. This often involved an enthusiastic response to nature. It encouraged a rejection of rigid, rigid Calvinism, and promised a new feeding of American culture.

Transcendentalists have held four basic philosophical positions. Simply put, these were ideas:

Independence

Individual conscience

Intuition over reason

The unity of all things in nature

In other words, individual men and women can exercise authority in the field of knowledge themselves, using their intuition and conscience. There was also a distrust of public and government institutions and their destructive effects on humans.

The Transcendentalist movement was centered in New England and included a number of prominent personalities including Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Ripley, Henry David Thoreau, Bronson Alcott, and Margaret Fuller. They founded a club called the Transcendental Club, which met to discuss a number of new ideas. In addition, they published a periodical, which they called Ziferblat, along with their individual works.

Founder and the American Scientist

Emerson was the unofficial leader of the transcendental movement. In 1837 he gave a speech at Cambridge entitled "The American Scientist." In his address, he stated that:

“The Americans] listened to the court muses of Europe for too long. The spirit of the American free man is already suspected of timidity, imitation, obedience ... Young people with the most wonderful promises who begin life on our shores, the blowing mountain winds, illuminated by all the stars of God, find the earth below not in unison with them, but restrain from actions with disgust that evoke the principles on which the business is conducted and turn the hustle and bustle or die of disgust - some of them are suicidal. What kind of medicine? They have not yet seen, and thousands of young people, full of hope, now crowd the obstacles on the way to a career, they still do not see that if a single man indomitable rises on his instincts, and they abide, a huge world will come closer to him. "

Transcendentalists and Progressive Reforms

Because of their belief in autonomy and individualism, transcendentalists became active supporters of progressive reforms. They wanted to help people find their own voice and reach their full potential. Margaret Fuller, one of the leading transcendentalists, advocated for women's rights. She argued that all genders are equal and should be treated accordingly. In addition, transcendentalists advocated the abolition of enslavement. In fact, there was an overlap between women's rights and the abolitionist movement. Other progressive movements they supported included prisoner rights, helping the poor, and better treatment of those in psychiatric institutions.

Religion and God

As a philosophy, transcendentalism is deeply rooted in faith and spirituality. Transcendentalists believed in the possibility of personal communication with God leading to the ultimate understanding of reality. The leaders of the movement were influenced by elements of mysticism present in the Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic religions, as well as in the American Puritans and Quakers. Transcendentalists equated their belief in universal reality with Quaker belief in divine Inner Light as a gift of God's grace.

Transcendentalism was greatly influenced by the doctrine of the Unitarian Church taught at the Harvard School of Divinity in the early 1800s. While Unitarians emphasized a rather calm and rational relationship with God, transcendentalists strove for a more personal and intense spiritual experience. According to Thoreau, transcendentalists found and communicated with God in light wind, dense forests and other creations of nature. Although transcendentalism never developed into its own organized religion; many of her followers remained in the Unitarian Church.

 Transcendentalism Influence:  American literature and Art

Transcendentalism influenced a number of important American writers who helped create a national literary identity. Three of these men are Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Walt Whitman. And many women were active Transcendentalists. Margaret Fuller (philosopher and writer) and Elizabeth Palmer Peabody (activist and influential bookstore owner) were at the heart of the transcendental movement. Others, including writer Louisa May Alcott and poet Emily Dickinson, were influenced by the movement. In addition, the movement also influenced American artists from the Hudson River School, who focused on the American landscape and the importance of communicating with nature.