Transcendentalism Essay, Research Paper

Transcendentalism is the philosophy that reality cannot be known and the

divine is the guiding principle in man. Transcendentalism says that the way

to god is through yourself; your inner thoughts lead you to a spiritual

reality. Transcendentalism is made up of four main ideas: idealism,

optimism, religion, and individualism. In Emerson’s essay "Self Reliance,"

he expresses his optimistic faith in the power of individual achievement and

originality. He also considered the overarching need to discover and develop

a relationship with nature and with god. I agree with Emerson’s ideas that

"envy is ignorance; imitation is suicide," "that whoso would be a man must be

a nonconformist," and "a man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart

into his work and done his best; but what he has said or done otherwise,

shall give him no peace."

I agree with Emerson’s idea that "envy is ignorance; imitation is

suicide." This means that you should be yourself and not try to be like

someone who you are not. Envying someone else for what they are wearing is

just plain out being ignorant; imitating someone is killing your

individualism. You need to do things for yourself and not for anyone else.

For example, one time I was talking to this kid who had those big raver pants

on, he said he hated wearing them, so I asked him why he was wearing them and

he said that he was going to a rave that night and he just wanted to fit in

with all the people there. He was imitating other people who go to raves

just to be cool and conform to their style of dressing. You need to act

yourself and not try to be someone you are not.

I agree with Emerson’s idea that "a man is relieved and gay when he has

put his heart into his work and done his best; but what he has said or done

otherwise, shall give him no peace." This means that when a man has tried as

hard as he can and has put every last effort into his work, he is relieved

and satisfied with what he has accomplished. For an example, I had a history

project to do and I have been working on it diligently on it for the last

week. The day I finished it and turned it in I felt proud of myself and

relieved that it was finally done it. When a man has done his best, he

should be proud of what he has done.

I agree with Emerson’s idea, "whoso would be a man must be a

nonconformist." This means that if you’re a man you should not conform to

what everybody else is doing but to do what you feel is right. You don’t

have to conform to what everyone is doing to fit in. If you are man enough

you would realize that you shouldn’t conform to everyone, you would believe

that everyone should be unique in his or her own diverse individualistic way.

For example, the music I listen to isn’t something you can get into right

away; it took many years to actually find these bands and start listening to

them. It’s not very common that people listen to anarcho punk and have the

beliefs that I do. Anarcho punk goes together very well with Emerson’s

individualism ideas and people not conforming to society. If you conform to

what everyone does you are just another victim of how society thinks.

Everyone can’t conform to the same ideas, otherwise this world would be

monotonous.

In conclusion, Emerson’s ideas have helped shape the world today, it has

made people open up their eyes to see that not everybody thinks exactly the

same. Everyone has their own uniqueness and should express that rather than

trying to be someone who you are not. You must do your best to create your

own individual opinions, and beliefs. Not two people are exactly the same

and it should be that way. Diversity allows people to think open-minded. If

you are close-minded you are being purely ignorant and not opening your eyes

to reality.