American Transcendentalism

1
American Transcendentalism

• A pragmatic philosophy
• A state of mind
• A form of spirituality

2
Basic Assumptions

• The individual is the spiritual center of the
  universe
• An understanding of nature, history and God can
  be found in the individual
• All knowledge begins with self knowledge

3
Basic Assumptions

• Nature is a living mystery, filled with symbolism
• Individual happiness depends on self-realization
• To know and become one with the world and nature
• To remain unique and separate

4
Fundamental Beliefs

• Transcendentalism is a form of idealism
• Transcendentalism was influenced by
• Puritanism
• Quaker beliefs
• Unitarianism
• Romanticism

5
Fundamental Beliefs

• Transcendentalism rises about the animalistic
  impulses of life
• Transcendentalism moves from the rational to the
  spiritual realm
• The individual human soul is part of the Divine
  Soul or Oversoul
• Every individual is part of the Oversoul

6
Fundamental Beliefs

• The Oversoul is interchangeable with God
• God is found in nature and in human nature
• Life is more important than afterlife
• Death is not feared the soul passes to the
  Oversoul in death

7
Fundamental Beliefs

• Evil is merely the absence of good
• Good is much more powerful than evil
• Power is obtained through self-reliance
• Consistency is not valued
• There is a unity between all things in the
  universe
• True reform comes from within

8
Influences of Transcendentalism

• Plato introduced idealism, which teaches that
  reality exists beyond the appearances of the
  world
• Immanuel Kant supported the importance of the
  natural spontaneity of the human mind
• John Locke introduced the concept of the mind as
  a tabula rasa (blank slate), and that all
  knowledge develops from sensations