FratFiles

• Save Paper

Transcendentalism as a way of life

Transcendentalism is a literary movement developed in New England in the first half of the nineteenth century based on a search for reality through spiritual intuition, the exaltation of the individual over society and the delight in nature. The transcendentalists formed a movement of feelings and beliefs rather than a system of philosophy. Their search for simplicity and the connection with nature, God and the universe can be seen as a search for a new way of life. They believed that if they explored nature and lived as a whole, they would come to know themselves and the universal truths better.
Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were among the leaders of the movement. Their main influences were neo-Platonism, German idealist philosophy and Eastern mystical writings.
In Nature, Ralph Waldo Emerson states clearly the concept of Transcendentalism. He states that man should not see nature only as something to be used, but that men’s......

View the rest of this paper...

Approximate Word Count: 836
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

Similar Essays

1. Estudent
   

   Estudent Transcendentalism as a way of life Transcendentalism is a literary movement developed in New England in the first half of the nineteenth century based on a search for

2. 
   

3. 
   

4. 
   

5.