Transcendentalism in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Nature

董陶

【Abstract】Transcendentalism was a philosophical， literary， social and theoretical movement that flourished in New England from about 1836 to 1860. Ralph Waldo Emerson was the most distinguished New England Transcendentalists and one of the most brilliant American poets and thinkers of the nineteenth century. His first published book Nature （1836）， a collection of essays， eloquently expresses the ideas of transcendentalism. It reveals the power of nature and praises the strength of human being and shows the close relationship between them.

【Key Words】Transcendentalism； Ralph Waldo Emerson； Nature （1836）

Transcendentalism derived some of its basic idealistic concepts from romantic German philosophy， notably that of Immanuel Kant， and from such English authors as Carlyle， Coleridge， and Wordsworth. Its mystical aspects were partly influenced by Indian and Chinese religious teachings. Although transcendentalism was never a rigorously systematic philosophy， it had some basic tenets that were generally shared by its adherents. The transcendentalists developed an idealistic system of thought based on a belief in the essential unity of all creation， the innate goodness of humankind， and the supremacy of vision over logic and experience for the revelation of the deepest truths. Its ideas were grounded in the claim that divine truth could be known intuitively. And these beliefs that God is immanent in each person and in nature and that individual intuition is the highest source of knowledge led to an optimistic emphasis on individualism， self-reliance， and rejection of traditional authority.

The transcendentalists fashioned a distinctive doctrine of humanity： one has a native capacity to apprehend spiritual reality directly in terms of perceptive intuition. Faith in the virtual infallibility of human intuition gave the transcendentalists their distinctive name. They believed in an order of truths that transcends the sphere of the external senses. They had a high opinion of humanity's moral estate and potentiality. The transcendentalists were united by the belief that we all possess a divine spark， and that human beings enter the world trailing clouds of glory. This purity and innocence is lost over time， and salvation consists of connecting once again with the divinity within us. Put simply， transcendentalism was a reaction to the rationality and reason of Unitarianism. It chose， instead， to focus on the moral sense of a person， on their intuitional faculty.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was the most distinguished New England Transcendentalists and one of the most brilliant American poets and thinkers of the nineteenth century.

Emerson was a man who had no personal excesses such as doomed Poe， no mysterious decade such as lent glamour to Hawthorne， no exotic adventures such as Melville founded his career upon， no dramatic struggles for artistic recognition such as Whitman waged， no local notoriety as a crank and extremist such as Thoreau acquired. He led a respectable， conventional life as a family man and decent solid citizen. Yet in both literature and philosophy this man of conventional life became the American writer with whom every other significant writer of his time had to come to terms. At one extreme， Melville reacted so hostilely to the optimistic side of Emersons thought that he satirized him in The Confidence-Man as a great American philosophical con man. At the other extreme， without Emersons inspiration， the writings of Thoreau are all but unthinkable and Whitmans great poetry might never have been written. Emersons persisting influence upon twentieth-century American writers is evident in astonishing permutations， on writers as diverse as Theodore Dreiser， Robert Frost， Wallace Stevens， his namesake Ralph Waldo Ellison and A. R. Ammons. （Baym， 898） However， critics have found it difficult to agree on which facet of Emerson's work deserves the most attention and where his influence has been most profoundly felt. Filled with maxims， his writings offer encouragement and consoling wisdom， which has gained him an enduring place in American popular culture. On the other hand， he has also been openly acknowledged by scholars as one of the most important influences in the fields of poetry and philosophy. Now seen as one of the founding figures in the American philosophical tradition， Emerson's prose and poetry reflect many contradictory mantles he assumed in his work， including those of Transcendentalist， philosopher， prose stylist， theorist， and social commentator. In addition， Emerson was also widely regarded as one of the most effective architects of a distinctly American philosophy embracing optimism， individuality， and mysticism.

Ralph Waldo Emersons first published book Nature （1836）， a collection of essays， eloquently expresses the ideas of transcendentalism. Composed of an introduction and eight lectures， Nature begins with the observation that modern man is crippled by a reverence for the past. Emerson's apparent dismissal of history argues a characteristically Transcendentalist and Protestant preoccupation with releasing human spiritual and moral life from history and placing the burden of responsibility upon the individual. The work expresses Emerson's fundamental belief that the study of nature is the source of spiritual truth. He also believed that people should try to live a simple life in harmony with nature and with others.

In the introduction， there are several sentences that best express the transcendentalists tenets.

“Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe？ Why should not we have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition， and a religion by revelation to us， and not the history of theirs？ Embosomed for a season in nature， whose floods of life stream around and through us， and invite us by the powers they supply， to action proportioned to nature， why should we grope among the dry bones of the past， or put the living generation into masquerade out of its faded wardrobe？ The sun shines to-day also. There is more wool and flax in the fields. There are new lands， new men， new thoughts. Let us demand our own works and laws and worship.” First， we should interact with God directly， not from church doctrine， but through nature. Emerson repudiated traditional religion and declared nature to be the divine example of inspiration. Second， in this short passage， there are three “we” and four “us” that emphasize self-reliance and the power of the individuals. Third， the statement “There are new lands， new men， new thoughts.” clearly displays the relationship between nature， individuals and human thinking.

In the first chapter， Emerson explains that in order to achieve true wisdom， we should have a direct relation with nature， with God's divine creation. We should go out to nature and our mind should be open to nature. But some people cannot really see nature， because we look at nature only with our own desires in mind. Then Emerson further explains. We need to look at nature as if we were little children， without adult cares and needs. Adults are morally corrupt； children are innocent and able to have a direct relation with God's design. But an adult can be childlike if he or she is virtuous： “The lover of nature is whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other.” Nature arouses all the emotions in us， because there is something emotional in nature. The infinity of nature absorbs the finiteness of the human self. The finite self ascends to the divine perspective of God， it rises to the God's-Eye view of the world： “I become a transparent eye-ball； I am nothing； I see all； the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me； I am part or particle of God.” In the wilderness there is something that is as beautiful as humanity.

Chapter3 first praises the power of nature. Nature refreshes humanity， restores the human spirit and speaks to humanity. Then Emerson points out the boundless possibilities of human fulfillment by exercising ones own spiritual and moral strength.

In chapter 7， Emerson shows clearly the relationship between nature， human being and the god. Nature is produced in the human mind by the action of God： Gods power enters the human soul， where it is transformed by human spiritual processes into the system of natural appearances. “We learn that man has access to the entire mind of the Creator， is himself the creator in the finite. If we were truly virtuous， our spiritual processes would be pure， so that we would have divine magical power like God.”

From my point of view， transcendentalists emphasize the unity of nature， humanity， and God. They give credence to the unlimited potential of human ability to connect with both the natural and spiritual world. The way to realize the potential of human ability is to be in harmony with nature. And to be in harmony with nature is to be in harmony with God's design； it is to be morally virtuous.

Reference：

[1]Baym，Mina，Ed.The Norton Anthology of American Literature.New York：W.W.Norton& Company，1989.

[2]Doren，Mark Van，Ed.The Portable Emerson.New York：The Viking Press，1946.

[3]Porte Joel，and Morris Saundra，eds.The Cambridge Companion To Ralph Waldo Emerson.Shanghai：Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press，2004.