Emerson’s Transcendentalist Ideas in his Book Nature

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Emerson’s first book Nature, published in 1896 may be one of his best on transcendentalism. He believed that everything in our world, even something as tiny as a drop of dew is a microcosm of the universe. His view on the oversoul, which is ain his view a supreme and superior mind that every man and woman share, allowed trandscentalists to dismiss the notion of external authority and now rely on personal experience.
With his Book Nature, it allowed the accessibility of universal understanding. It shows Emerson’s belief that each person on their own must create an understanding, a personal understanding of the universe. In his introduction he believes all men should not rely on second-hand information, inherited information. He feels we should enjoy an original relation to the universe like our forefathers did when they beheld god and nature face to face. Emerson feels the past allowed people to have an immediate and intimate relationship with God; they were allowed to conclude their own understanding of the universe. But he wants to ‘’’demand our own works and laws and worship’’ .his rejection of learned wisdom is repeated throughout nature as he believes the importance of the present moment, the possibilities of here and now make past schemes and observations irrelevant. In ‘Language’ he believes the relations between spirit and matter Is not fancied a type of poet, but stands in the will of god and so is free to be learned and known by all men
In Nature, Emerson wants a vision of the universe that embraces man, nature, matter and spirit as expressions of god. This type of unity is called the oversoul in Emerson’s other writings. New and direct understanding of nature is the understanding of the totality of the universe. He f...

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...age’ he details language and uses it as a thought mechanism through its symbolism, a person according to Emerson expresses himself through nature.
Emerson’s Transcendentalist ideas on matter and spirit are evident in Nature. Nature works as a representation of the divine, to promote human insight into universal laws. Spirit is the universal organ through which the world is perceived. It speaks to the individual. In ‘Idealism’ he takes a philosophical route asking whether nature exists separately or whether it is only an image created in man’s mind by god. He believes science, religion, philosophy and poetry do matter to higher truth. But he does accept that idealism is hard to accept for those who have trust in rationality over Intuition.
Emerson concluded his essay by asking us as the readers to open ourselves to spiritual reality by trusting in intuitive reason.

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