Ralph Waldo Emerson and Transcendentalism: Self-Reliance and the American Scholar
Overview
This reflection paper analyzes Ralph Waldo Emerson's philosophical position on transcendentalism as presented in his lecture 'The American Scholar.' The paper examines Emerson's seemingly contradictory claims about human nature—that individuals are fragments requiring collaboration yet must achieve self-reliance and independent thinking—and argues that this apparent confusion reinforces the core tenets of transcendentalist philosophy.
What this reflection paper covers
- Introduction to Emerson and transcendentalism movement, defining core philosophical beliefs about individual purity and self-reliance
- Analysis of 'The American Scholar' lecture, exploring the apparent contradiction between human interdependence and individual intellectual independence
- Comparison with Henry David Thoreau's Walden to reinforce transcendentalist emphasis on self-reliance and rejection of societal corruption
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Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American lecturer, essayist, poet, and philosopher who lived between 1803 and 1882. Waldo led the transcendentalism movement that championed individualism in the US in the mid-19th century. Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that believes that society and its institutions have corrupted the individual's purity, but people are at their best through self-reliance. Emerson was also a critic of the countervailing pressure that society gives people through essays he published and more than 1500 lectures he gave across the US. Emerson moved away from social and religious beliefs in formulating and expressing the philosophy of transcendentalism hence purposely confusing his readers, which is not kind to his readers. This essay is a reflection of the position of Ralph Waldo Emerson in his public lecture on The American Scholar about transcendentalism.
In his speech, The American Scholar Emerson puts forward exciting claims about human nature confusing on a close look. First, he says that humankind is a fragment. The body comprises different fragments that include hands, legs, and head that combine to make up the body (Emerson, 1). Nature is also from fragments of different things that have living things and non-living. Through this first argument, I believe Emerson says that humankind needs to collaborate for good life issues. Like hands collaborate with the head, legs, and other parts of the body, human beings should work together with other people for greater prosperity.