Transcendentalism

Transcendentalism 

Transcendentalism is a 19th-century school of American theological and philosophical thought that combined respect for nature and self-sufficiency with elements of Unitarianism and German Romanticism. Writer Ralph Waldo Emerson was the primary practitioner of the movement, which existed loosely in Massachusetts in the early 1800s before becoming an organized group in the 1830s.

Transcendentalism has its origins in New England of the early 1800s and the birth of Unitarianism. It was born from a debate between “New Light” theologians, who believed that religion should focus on an emotional experience, and “Old Light” opponents, who valued reason in their religious approach.

These “Old Lights” became known first as “liberal Christians” and then as Unitarians, and were defined by the belief that there was no trinity of father, son and holy ghost as in traditional Christian belief, and that Jesus Christ was a mortal.

Thinkers in the movement embraced ideas brought forth by philosophers Immanuel Kant and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, ancient Indian scripture known as the Vedas and religious founder Emanuel Swedenborg.

A TRANSCENDENTALIST is a person who accepts these ideas not as religious beliefs but as a way of understanding life relationships.

The individuals most closely associated with this new way of thinking were connected loosely through a group known as THE TRANSCENDENTAL CLUB, which met in the Boston home of GEORGE RIPLEY. Their chief publication was a periodical called "The Dial," edited by Margaret Fuller, a political radical and feminist whose book "Women of the Nineteenth Century" was among the most famous of its time. The club had many extraordinary thinkers, but accorded the leadership position to RALPH WALDO EMERSON.

Margaret Fuller played a large part in both the women's and Transcendentalist movements. She helped plan the community at Brook Farm, as well as editing The Dial, and writing the feminist treatise, Woman in the Nineteenth Century.

Emerson was a Harvard-educated essayist and lecturer and is recognized as our first truly "American" thinker. In his most famous essay, "THE AMERICAN SCHOLAR," he urged Americans to stop looking to Europe for inspiration and imitation and be themselves. He believed that people were naturally good and that everyone's potential was limitless. He inspired his colleagues to look into themselves, into nature, into art, and through work for answers to life's most perplexing questions. His intellectual contributions to the philosophy of transcendentalism inspired a uniquely American idealism and spirit of reform.

Transcendentalism movement arose as a result of a reaction to Unitarianism as well as the Age of Reason. Both centered on reason as the main source of knowledge, but transcendentalists rejected that notion. Some of the transcendentalist beliefs are:

• Humans are inherently good
• Society and its institutions such as organized religion and politics are corrupting. Instead of being part of them, humans should strive to be independent and self-reliant
• Spirituality should come from the self, not organized religion
• Insight and experience are more important than logic
• Nature is beautiful, should be deeply appreciated, and shouldn’t be altered by humans

Major Transcendentalist Values

The transcendentalist movement encompassed many beliefs, but these all fit into their three main values of individualism, idealism, and the divinity of nature.

 

Individualism

Perhaps the most important transcendentalist value was the importance of the individual. They saw the individual as pure, and they believed that society and its institutions corrupted this purity. Transcendentalists highly valued the concept of thinking for oneself and believed people were best when they were independent and could think for themselves. Only then could individuals come together and form ideal communities.

 

Idealism

The focus on idealism comes from Romanticism, a slightly earlier movement. Instead of valuing logic and learned knowledge as many educated people at the time did, transcendentalists placed great importance on imagination, intuition and creativity. They saw the values of the Age of Reason as controlling and confining, and they wanted to bring back a more “ideal” and enjoyable way of living.

 

Divinity of Nature

Transcendentalists didn’t believe in organized religion, but they were very spiritual. Instead of believing in the divinity of religious figures, they saw nature as sacred and divine. They believed it was crucial for humans to have a close relationship with nature, the same way religious leaders preach about the importance of having a close relationship with God. Transcendentalists saw nature as perfect as it 

was; humans shouldn’t try to change or improve it.

 Romanticism Course  " Part One"

Destined to 2nd Year Students.

Designed by : Dr. SELT Djihad Afaf

A lecturer, UATL.

Definition and Background

Romanticism is a literary, artistic, musical and even political movement that began in the late 18th century,    and lasted until the 19th century—but its influence is still perceptible to this day., Romanticism can be seen as a reaction to the drastic changes in society that occurred during this period, including the revolutions that swept through countries like France and the United States, ushering in grand experiments in democracy.

European Romanticism began as a reaction to the ways in which Industrial Revolution and the Enlightenment had transformed society. The Enlightenment had prioritized reason and rationality over emotion and creativity. The Industrial Revolution had urbanized England. Technology was thriving, science was hastily evoluting, and cities were becoming increasingly swarming. There was a kind of shift of the European societies from the agrarian culture to the industrial one.

As an outcome of these changes, many people felt like humanity was trailing its relationship with the natural world and the sublime. They believed that this whole modernity has affected the human soul and rendered it more selfish.

Many scholars believe that despite the fact that the industrial revolution was an economic success it was also a social failure. This is due to  tremendous vices that were brought to the fore such as child labor, spread of unemployment (because men were replaced by machines) and widening the gap between classes.

Amidst these hard times, appears the effective contribution of the Romanticists: a group of artists, writers, and intellectuals who regarded themselves not only as literary laureates but rather political activists and patriots who celebrated nature, emotion, and the spiritual. They criticized the way society had changed and glorified the past in their work.

One of the most brilliant facets of literature is that it consists a reflective a mirror of life. Europe and America witnessed drastic changes in the late eighteenth century, and the Romantic Era reflected this change.

The Main Characteristics of Romanticism ( The Five I s) :

Imagination
Imagination presides the thought and philosophy of this movement. It is highly stressed on and prioritized over reason. In fact, glorifying imagination comes as a backlash against the rational thinking that characterized the Neoclassical period or “Age of Reason.” Imagination is crucial as it is the basis of creativity which is the origin of all arts.

Individualism
Romantics celebrate the individual. The Romantics avowed the significance of the individual, the unique, and the eccentric.  Their celebration of the individual in this movement is taken to the extreme that it tends to oppose the traditional view of the concept of the hero. The neoclassical representation of the hero outcasts the character of the magnificent and the supernatural. However , it takes a certain degree of strength for a common man to become the archetype of a hero.

Inspiration

The Romantic artists and poets tend to seek inspiration within the broods of nature. For Romantics, nature is often presented as a work of art in itself, created by a divine imagination and uttered through emblematic language.For them, it is the source of serenity and positive influence on the human mind and soul.

Idealism
Idealism is the perception that views perfection in every aspect of life.It refers to the different theories and views that emphasize the spiritual side of humanity, its mindset, and favoring language over matter.

 Idealism is the metaphysical view that associates reality to ideas in the mind rather than to material objects.  It lays emphasis on the mental or spiritual components of experience, and renounces the notion of material existence.  Idealists regard the mind and spirit as the most essential, permanent aspects of one’s being.  The philosophical views of Berkeley, Christian Science, and Hinduism embrace idealist thought as they relate it to the existence of a supreme, divine reality that transcends basic human understanding and inherent sensory awareness.- Omonia Vinieris (2002)

Intuition
Romantics often put a premium on “intuition,” or the inner guts, feelings and instincts, over reason. They believe that knowledge is acquired through intuition more than deduction. William Words Worth summarizes it all as he claims:  “all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.” W.W

 

The  work that marks the beginning of Romanticism in English literature is Lyrical Ballads by William Wo Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge . It was published  in 1798.