American Transcendentalists Essay

American transcendentalists sought the permanent spiritual reality behind physical appearances. They were optimistic and believed in human perfectibility; they engaged in projects that tried to create the ideal reality. They believed that the universe is one great entity. Transcendentalism centres on the divinity of each individual. But this divinity could be self-discovered only if the person had the independence of mind. They believed in democracy, equality, the unlimited power of the individual and the beauty of the human spirit and the natural world. They focused on the positive aspects of life, while working to improve the injustices of the world. Transcendentalists’ view on Nature is unique and interesting. They believe that there is an inner spark contained by and connecting all facets of nature, including mankind, which can be discovered not through logical reasoning but only through intuition and the creative insight. They stressed the importance of harmony with nature.   Transcendentalism is an idealism that encompasses a diverse and sometimes confusing set of beliefs regarding man’s role in nature and the universe. As for the human nature, transcendentalists saw no need for any intercession between God and man and therefore called for an independence from organized religion. They stated that God is energy, a force, not a particular separate being; God breathes through nature and man attempts to open himself up to this influx. Their claim was that the divinity is self-contained in every being. They believed in the unlimited potential of human ability to connect with both the natural and spiritual world. People should, through their intuition, the external symbols of nature and translate them into spiritual facts. Transcendentalists were idealistic and optimistic because they believed they could find answers to whatever they were seeking. Transcendentalist declared there was meaning in everything and that meaning was good and connected by and parts of a divine plan. This philosophy led to an optimistic emphasis on individualism; one aspect of individualism is the value of the individual over society. One must follow his instincts and not conform to what society dictates. Although society will influence an individual towards conformity, it is important to remain true to one’s self and to one’s identity. Transcendentalism believes the spiritual reflection of each person as they move from the rational to the spiritual is the very essence of life, and this is an individual accomplishment. Thoreau stated that the world around us as a miracle in itself. It is in this living we move toward the conscience of the reality we cannot see, and this is part of Thoreau’s point. Thoreau argued in Walden that the divine exists not just in all people but can be perceived in all of nature. The idea of immanence served to strengthen Thoreau’s belief in the equality of all people â€Å"Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads,† cited Thoreau in Walden. â€Å"Superfluous wealth can buy superfluities only,† is another valuable quotation from his book. Transcendentalists believed in individual creative spirit and empathized natural way of life. Thus, transcendentalists were extolling the spiritual benefits of living in nature. Thoreau believed that â€Å"most men live lives of quiet desperation,† and he wanted to show the humanity a way out. Anti-transcendentalists rejected the optimistic outlook on humanity and life declaring that the optimism of their predecessors was naà ¯ve and unrealistic.   The anti-transcendentalists reflected a more pessimistic attitude and focused on man’s uncertainty and limited potential in the universe. The writing of anti-transcendentalists focuses on imagination, intuition, the power of nature and individual emotion, but they deal with the darker side of human nature. The anti-transcendentalists viewed nature as vast and incomprehensible, a reflection of the struggle between good and evil. The anti-transcendentalist felt humans were depraved and had to struggle for goodness.  Although they thought goodness was attainable for some, they believed in evil as its own entity. They believed sin was an active force; it was not just the absence of good; they really did think, on some level, that the devil existed. The anti-transcendentalists believed in a higher authority and that nature is ultimately the creation and possession of God and can not be understood by humans. The anti-transcendentalists feared that people who desired complete individualism would give into the worse angles of man’s nature. They were concerned that without external constraints, such as societal mores, people would be motivated only by their immediate need and desire for sensory gratification. They believed that both nature and human nature had a dark side that could not be ignored. Anti-transcendentalist writer would hold readers’ attention through dread of a series of terrible possibilities and feature landscapes of dark forests, extreme vegetation, concealed ruins with horrific rooms, depressed characters. Melville’s perspective on life is that God created the universe with an infinite number of meanings and man is always trying to determine one specific meaning. The writer believed the single-minded idealist could draw society into danger. Melville illustrated this fault through his main character, Ahab, who embarked on a journey to avenge the whale that dismasted him. Ahab had excessive pride, which blinded his common sense and endangered his crew as he set out on a futile mission of revenge. When Ahab said, â€Å"I would strike out at the sun if it insulted me. Who’s over me?† † it showed his transformation into a single-minded idealist. In this story the whale, Moby Dick, serves to symbolize any force that we allow to hold us back. Melville, through symbolism in the story, taught the moral that when human beings have few external constraints, their inner needs and drives serve as their motivation. He also warned of the inherent dangers in a person such as Captain Ahab. On the contrary, Ishmael’s character allows the reader to relate to a love for nature and the earth, as well as a feeling of inner peace and serenity. The â€Å"man vs Nature† is one of the central in the book. This conflict contradicts totally the notion about the integrity of humankind and natural world. Still, Melville gives credit to natural world, while referring to it as to the, â€Å"God’s great, unflattering laureate, Nature.† But in his writing the integrity and spiritual fullness of Nature is questioned, his approach is more scientific than philosophical. Hawthorne was another representative of anti-transcendentalist trend in American literature. In Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment an invitation to taste from the fountain of youth is offered. Four Heidegger’s friends agree to do so and they become young again, but they are soon devastated by the transience of the experience. Again, the motif of the uncontrolled power of the science is central in the story. Another contradiction between transcendentalists and their opponents concentrated around the concept of self-reliability. For instance, Hawthorne saw the self-reliant person as selfish, insecure, and desperate for attention. The need for a person to depend on society is as great as the need for society to depend on the individual. But the term â€Å"society† in the story has more specific application. â€Å"Society† is the familiar circle, the system of social relations of each individual. By becoming suddenly young, people endanger themselves of loosing their familiar circle of friends and acquaintances. Hawthorne depicted people who had no regard for societal values at all; he was among the first to introduce the problem of ethic of science. As for the human nature, Dr. Heidegger advices his friends that they should, â€Å"think what a sin and shame it would be, if, with your peculiar advantages, you should not become patterns of virtue and wisdom to all the young people of the age.† The issue of sin has attracted many anti-transcendentalist writers. So we mak3e a conclusion that transcendentalist authors had optimistic view of life and believed in the spiritual nature if the world and integrity of Man and Nature, they put on emphasis over individualism and self-reliance. Anti-transcendentalists had more pessimistic view on life and concentrated on the darkest side of human nature. Sources: Herman Melville, Moby Dick or the Whale, Modern Library, Reprint edition, 1992, ISBN: 0679600108 Nathaniel Hawthorne, Tales and Sketches, Library of America, 1982, ISBN: 0940450038 Henry David Thoreau, Walden: An Annotated Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995, ISBN: 0395720427