Transcendentalism

 Hello everyone this blog is response to Megha Trivedi ma'am.In this blog i will discuss about the term of Transcendentalism.

Introduction of Transcendentalism

          Transcendentalism was a philosophical movement started in the 1820s and 1830s by New England writers and philosophers. These writers and philosophers believed that institutional society impeded the importance of being an individual and building self-reliance. One of the foremost works which best describes the themes inherent to transcendentalism is Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson. This essay, first published in 1841, explicitly describes a difference between the individual self and the "other" -- the rest of society. Emerson, throughout the essay, proclaims that people should trust their individual thoughts and knowledge as opposed to what the rest of society says. He would rather act independent than do something good just because society deems it good. Emerson believed that the only way to grow better and improve is to trust one's own intuition and constantly work independently.

                 Ralph Waldo Emerson,  

      one of the first Transcendentalists

Origin of Transcendentalism

               Transcendentalism formed as a rebellious reaction to the Age of Reason -- a state where society was focused on rationalism and searching for objective truths in humanity and the universe. Transcendentalists opposed this idea, saying, rather, that each individual could find their own truth within themselves and by their own intuition. The movement was connected to a debate concerning religion, where one side wanted an emotional view of religion and the other side (which became known as the Unitarians) wanted a rational view. In response to this debate, four Harvard alumni met to discuss the ideas in this debate. They were Frederic Henry Hodge, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Unitarian ministers George Ripley and George Putnam. This group continued to grow, meet, and discuss, and eventually became known as The Transcendental Club.

Brief Overview of the Movement

              Transcendentalism is a philosophical and social movement that began around 1836, in New England. However, before we delve into defining and comprehending this movement, it's necessary for one to understand why it was developed. It was created as a rebellious reaction to the previous Age of Reason, and its rationalist way of thinking. The original members of the movement also believed society and its organized institutions (for example, religion and politics) were corrupting the purity of individuals. The movement was created based on ideas from a variety of sources, including Hindu texts, various other religious ideas, and German idealism.

           Transcendentalism, as a whole, centered on the writings and teachings of American author Ralph Waldo Emerson; it especially focused on his piece entitled, Self-Reliance. Transcendentalists were some of the first known non-conformists in America, and thus they critiqued contemporary society for its unthinking conformity. Through his writing, Emerson urged everyone to find his own 'original relation to the universe.' Now that we have a better idea why this movement was created, let's move on and focus on its core, essential values.

Some of the characteristic features of Transcendentalism are as follows:

1. The Transcendental believed that the power of divine or God can be known through the power of emotion and intuition. They rejected the rational and logical entity of mind to know God and reacted against the ideals of Unitarianism. They relied on intuition for all the answers and believed that knowledge comes from within and intuition resides within an individual. They wanted to go beyond or transcend the limitations of human senses and based their knowledge of spiritual and other knowledge by their emotions and inner voice rather than sensory perceptions.
2. They championed the idea of individualism and believed in the idea of self-reliance. They thought that individual entity is the spiritual center of the universe where the prime importance of individual presence on society is established to make progression and development. They critique the society and political aspects which destroy human mind and corrupt their souls. Hence, they believed in the independent of every individual and one should listen to their own mind and soul.
3. The other important philosophy is the philosophy of over soul. It is about the soul’s connection with God where every other souls are connected to God who is the over soul. It means to emphasize that God is omnipresent and is everywhere and hence there are no clear distinction between human soul and nature as the study of nature will help in better understanding the laws of nature which will lead them to understand God and other aspects of soul.
4. The nature also plays an important role in their philosophy as nature is the scared place of solitude and peace which the English Romantics finds it too. It is through nature one can understand God , self and soul which resides within us. They emphasized that man should spend time on nature and study nature which will enable them to attain spiritual guidance and morality than religious texts as God is omnipresent to them and studying nature will guide them to understand God and its relationship.
5.  They believed in the idea of non-conformity and hence argued to restrain from any social and political doctrines. They clearly wanted to detach themselves from the set principles and conventions led by the society and urges every individual to become self reliant and independent. They believed that these set of principles destroy mankind and one cannot understand God from it and hence one should not conform to such rules and regulations constructed by the society.
6.  They believed in the simplicity of life and sought to restrain from the materialistic and worldly desires. They detached themselves from the urban life and settled in the lap of nature to find solace and calmness instead of the material values which are easily accessible in the urban and city life.

The Scarlet Letter

             The Scarlet Letter is  Romance is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850.[1] Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter with a man to whom she is not married and then struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Containing a number of religious and historic allusions, the book explores themes of legalism, sin and guilt.

Some quotes based on Transcendentalism 

“A pure hand needs no glove to cover it.“                                                              Chapter XII

             Transcendentalist believed in the truth. Transcendentalist did not want to follow society thought their rules and regulations, transcendentalist wanted to express them selves by their own thoughts, not ones given to them by religion or culture. When people fallow the rules and regulations, they are fictionally meaning they are putting on gloves, covering their impulse.

“A bodily disease, which we look upon as whole and entire within itself, may, after all, be but a symptom of some ailment in the spiritual part.” 

                          Chapter X

          Hawthorn writes that the character is suffering from a spiritual sickness. Transcendentalist did not try to prove that their theories of the spiritual world were true, but that everyone is free to believe in it anyway they want to.

Conclusion:

       Transcendentalism is not a religion, it is a way of thinking. One could be involved in a religion and still believe in Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism is how one views the world through their eyes. Knowing one's self is key to learning about transcendentalism. Transcendentalist are constantly faced with questions about themselves and their thoughts. It must have been hard to go against everyone in the community. But what motivated the transcendentalist was the phrase "fallow your heart".