Transcendentalism Through The Political Thought Of Emerson Thoreau And Fuller
Transcendentalism
Through the Political Thought of Emerson, Thoreau and Fuller
Courtney Thompson
Introduction: The Transcendentalist
During the early to middle years of the nineteenth century, American transcendentalism was born. The term transcendental came from German philosopher Immanuel Kant. He criticizes John Locke, who claimed that knowledge comes through our sensual impressions of the world. Kant feels as though the mind has intuitions of itself that he called transcendental forms. He said that all intuitive thought is transcendental. (The Transcendentalist, 1842) Transcendentalism has a lot of meanings but over time it has essentially remained the same. A 1913 Webster’s Dictionary described transcendentalism as claiming “to have a true knowledge of all things, material and immaterial, human and divine, so far as the mind is capable of knowing them. It is also sometimes used for that which is vague and illusive in philosophy.” (Webster Dictionary, 1913) Today transcendentalism has furthered its meaning to “a philosophy which says that thought and spiritual things are more real than ordinary human experience and material things.” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.) Cliffnotes describes it as:
“A religious, literary, and philosophical movement in New England between 1836, when Emerson published Nature, and 1844, when The Dial — the publishing entity of the transcendental movement — ceased publication. Influenced by Unitarianism, transcendentalists denied the existence of miracles, preferring a Christianity that rested on the teachings of Christ and not on his deeds. They experimented with communal living and supported educational innovation, the abolitionist and feminist movements, and the reform of the church and society, generally. New England transcendentalists were committed to intuition as a way of knowing, to individualism, and to a belief in the divinity of humans and nature.” (Charles Mignon & H. Rose, Glossary, n.d.)
Transcendentalism is so much more
Through the Political Thought of Emerson, Thoreau and Fuller
Courtney Thompson
Introduction: The Transcendentalist
During the early to middle years of the nineteenth century, American transcendentalism was born. The term transcendental came from German philosopher Immanuel Kant. He criticizes John Locke, who claimed that knowledge comes through our sensual impressions of the world. Kant feels as though the mind has intuitions of itself that he called transcendental forms. He said that all intuitive thought is transcendental. (The Transcendentalist, 1842) Transcendentalism has a lot of meanings but over time it has essentially remained the same. A 1913 Webster’s Dictionary described transcendentalism as claiming “to have a true knowledge of all things, material and immaterial, human and divine, so far as the mind is capable of knowing them. It is also sometimes used for that which is vague and illusive in philosophy.” (Webster Dictionary, 1913) Today transcendentalism has furthered its meaning to “a philosophy which says that thought and spiritual things are more real than ordinary human experience and material things.” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.) Cliffnotes describes it as:
“A religious, literary, and philosophical movement in New England between 1836, when Emerson published Nature, and 1844, when The Dial — the publishing entity of the transcendental movement — ceased publication. Influenced by Unitarianism, transcendentalists denied the existence of miracles, preferring a Christianity that rested on the teachings of Christ and not on his deeds. They experimented with communal living and supported educational innovation, the abolitionist and feminist movements, and the reform of the church and society, generally. New England transcendentalists were committed to intuition as a way of knowing, to individualism, and to a belief in the divinity of humans and nature.” (Charles Mignon & H. Rose, Glossary, n.d.)
Transcendentalism is so much more