Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self Reliance"
Ralph Waldo Emerson believes he writes quite the persuading argument in 'Self-Reliance.' Wielding his pen as if it were Excalibur, he vies to stimulate and challenge the down-trodden mind in his classic work on the American Spirit. His lines are affecting, romantic, and hypnotic, especially at the first reading; his thoughts on the page beget inspiration for the reader. 'Self-Reliance' has its value in its boldness, its construction, and mature attitudes toward consistency and failure. In addition, Emerson's confident logic seems impregnable. At a second glance, however, it becomes apparent that this logic bases itself on a flawed philosophy which does injustice to the value of society. To Emerson, not only is self-doubt absolutely out of the question, but it is a virtue to believe that everyone believes as you do. He writes that there is no value in life but personal principles and goals, and that society is irrelevant. Readers are often charmed and disarmed by his brave, fresh attitude; it may take a few readings to break through this wall of seemingly godly wisdom in 'Self-Reliance.' The glittery facade, however, eventually fades. With time, it becomes clear that Emerson precisely constructs and calculates the wording and paragraphs of his essay to appeal to readers' emotions rather than their reason.
Not all Emerson's work should be shunned. Let us consider his argument's values as well as its shortcomings and give him more of a chance than he gives society. I applaud his boldness in stating, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines," (1164). The courage to admit one's own...
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...ciety can build on itself and make advances. It is an upward spiral of common interest, not a failure of individual goals. Without society, Emerson would have had no philosophers to feed his mind, no alphabet with which to write, and no society against which to rebel. Even if he were correct in his opinions, I personally would prefer to have society than none at all. I choose to honor my predecessors by building upon their work, and expect the same will be done for our society.
Works Cited:
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. ?Self-Reliance.? The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. 6th ed. Vol. B. New York: W. W. Norton Company, Inc., 2003. 1160?1176.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. ?The American Scholar.? The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym. 6th ed. Vol. B. New York: W. W. Norton Company, Inc., 2003. 1135?1147.
I agree with the statement Benjamin Anastas makes about Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “self-reliance” of how it is “the most pernicious piece of literature in the American canon” (Anastas 602-603). One reason why I agree with Anastas is that Emerson believes the people are timid and apologetic and do not have opinions of their own. Another reason why I stand alongside Anastas is that Emerson thinks people are afraid of each other and the truth(s) that others have are but quotes from a saint or sage. My final reason that I believe Anastas is correct is due to Emerson believing our society does not gain anything new that makes life worth living.
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In “Self Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, he promotes the importance of self reliance as an individual, and in society. Individuality to Emerson Opposed the traditional ideas of society, and to him it meant to oppose the conformity and consistency in society. He believes that the majority of people have given up their self reliance because of their fear of judgement by society. To be an individual, Emerson stresses that one has to be a risk taker, and disregard all things external.
I believe that, essentially, life consists of a series of choices. A grouping of these choices in one direction or another makes us who we are, and ultimately we have control over our lives. What makes one person different from another is his own set of choices. When going through life’s motions, we develop certain worldviews and ideas and values to live by. We develop an opinion of what makes a person “great.” In the well-known essay “Self-Reliance”, Ralph Waldo Emerson provides a beautiful way of approaching these choices, and he reveals a very inspiring set of values centralized around going through life answering only to yourself. I love the way Emerson evaluates the society we live in, and how he radically encourages being misunderstood and nonconformist. Emerson, like myself, exhibits values of saying exactly what you think and living only by what you believe to be the best.
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Baird and Kaufmann, the editors of our text, explain in their outline of Descartes' epistemology that the method by which the thinker carried out his philosophical work involved first discovering and being sure of a certainty, and then, from that certainty, reasoning what else it meant one could be sure of. He would admit nothing without being absolutely satisfied on his own (i.e., without being told so by others) that it was incontrovertible truth. This system was unique, according to the editors, in part because Descartes was not afraid to face doubt. Despite the fact that it was precisely doubt of which he was endeavoring to rid himself, he nonetheless allowed it the full reign it deserved and demanded over his intellectual labors. "Although uncertainty and doubt were the enemies," say Baird and Kaufmann (p.16), "Descartes hit upon the idea of using doubt as a tool or as a weapon. . . . He would use doubt as an acid to pour over every 'truth' to see if there was anything that could not be dissolved . . . ." This test, they explain, resulted for Descartes in the conclusion that, if he doubted everything in the world there was to doubt, it was still then certain that he was doubting; further, that in order to doubt, he had to exist. His own existence, therefore, was the first truth he could admit to with certainty, and it became the basis for the remainder of his epistemology.
“What I must do, is all that concerns me, not what the people think.” (Emerson, 552) demonstrates that Emerson wants individuals to discover their true self that have unique way of thinking and should have a strong sense of self; The strong sense of self is also presented by “A great man is coming to eat at my house. I do not wish to please him: I wish that he should wish to please me.” (Emerson, 555) while stating that nobody’s ideas should be less valued. Through “The one thing in the world of value, is, the active soul, --the soul, free, sovereign, active.” (Emerson, 539) he shows his preference of resisting influences thinkers in past brings because he believes individuals nowadays can come up with better ideas and reading old ones will hold creativity back. In case that Emerson sticks with the stand that everybody can look into themselves carefully and bring up brand new and great thoughts to contribute to the world, he has no compassion toward poor people. If each individual has ability to be self-reliant, and then the only reason why poor people are poor is that they do not even try to manage their destiny. Therefore, unlike Franklin, Emerson questions “Are they my poor?” (Emerson, 552) to blame poor people.
Ralph Waldo Emerson							I am writing this essay on the beliefs and thoughts of Ralph Waldo Emerson on the subjects of individuality, society, government, technology, and spirituality.
When institutions limit expressions, this can complicate or change the meaning of the works people deliver. It is inevitable for humans to miscalculate or misunderstand things, and education has these miscommunications. Anastas explores the consequences of miscommunications in his article “The Foul Reign of Self-Reliance”. He reviews different meanings of Emerson’s phrase “Self- Reliance” and their flaws, as well as the reasons why readers today misinterpret information in general. Anstatas shows how people were too quick to analyze Emerson’s message and misread its true meaning possibly because of their methods in studying the work. As he explains, “Ever since, we have been misreading him, or at least misapplying him” (Anastas, 3). Meanings that are misread are then passed down and no one challenges them, causing everyone to accept the
Descartes is clearing away all knowledge that can be called into doubt. By doing this he hopes to create something real and lasting in the sciences, a foundation to build on. This indisputable fact will become the starting point or origin of all other true knowledge he can build upon it. He starts the first argument by attacking the very beginning of knowledge, human senses. Descartes states, "Surely whatever I had admitte...