Walking in modern society is seen as a tool to get from one place to another. However, philosophers explore the idea that walking can be much more than just a means of transportation. Walking is a catalyst for the brain it helps increase brain function subsequently forming more articulate thoughts. I’ve noticed that the surroundings in which you choose to saunter play a big role in your thought process as well. Walking home on the streets of Berkeley compared to hiking through the mountains of Tahoe, I noticed a difference in my thought process. While in the mountains I felt much more relaxed and mentally clear, compared to when I was walking to my house I felt stressed and in a rush to get home. This idea is supported by the works of Rebecca …show more content…
Solnit, Jean - Jacques Rousseau, and Henry David Thoreau. Each of the texts looks at man's relationship with nature. A recurring theme in the texts is that the forest is an ideal place of contemplation. The forest is an exemplary place of contemplation because it allows us to feel disconnected from stress, and society and at one with our thoughts. An example of this idea that men belong in nature, and ultimately the forest is present in the works of Rebecca Solnit's The Mind at Three Miles per Hour.
Solnit touches on Rousseau's use of ambiguity in regards to solitude throughout his writings when she says, “He portrays human beings in their natural state as isolated dwellers in a hospitable forest” (20). This passage reflects the idea that human beings belong in nature. A human's “natural state” according to Thoreau is isolated in a hospitable forest. Man is peaceful in the forest away from the distractions of society and able to contemplate freely. Solnit expresses this same concept of man belonging in nature isolated from society troubles when she writes, “Wandering in forests, without industry, without speech, without domicile, without war and without liaisons, with no need of his fellow men, likewise with no desire to harm them”(18). Similarly these two passages discuss the same idea that humans are in their “natural state” in the forest. Humans when away from the distractions of society such as industry, or war, are able to engage in a heightened level of thought process and clarity. Once in this relaxed, clear, state of mind man will no longer feel the need for fellow men or harm
them. In Henry David Thoreau's “Walking”, his idea also discusses man’s relationship while being isolated in nature. Similarly to Rousseau, he seems man’s real home in the natural world. Thoreau states that, “I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us alright”. Thoreau is saying that nature is a hidden magnet, and if you let go and give yourself to nature it directs you down a right path. Nature in this quote is comparable to the idea that nature is a dirt path, and if the human accepts the tranquility and peace found within nature, will be guided down the right path. In conclusion, the ideas of Solnit, Thoreau, and Rousseau all reflect the same idea that humans are at home in nature. In addition, that the forest aids contemplation by relaxing the mind and increasing your mind's ability to articulate thoughts. I have noticed this same phenomena myself, when i am in an urban environment my thoughts and ideas tend to be more sporadic and jagged. However, when hiking in the forest i find myself at one with nature in a peaceful state with increased clarity and focus.
Rebecca Krefting (2014), “an Associate Professor of American Studies, affiliate faculty to Gender Studies, and Director of the Media and Film Studies Program” (Skidmore), wrote an article called “Making Connections.” Krefting (2014) explains the connections between comedy and people, listing the reasons the world can build “Cultural Citizenship” through “charged humor” (p. 17-18)
Stacy notes that this passage is related to "a person getting a sense of their self in relation to Nature." The Web material describes Thoreau’s practice of linking landscape and identity.
Both Thoreau and McCandless had a deep appreciation for solitude in nature. In Walden, Thoreau explains how he’d “... love to see Nature that is so rife with life that myriads can be afforded to be sacrificed and suffered to prey on one another; that tender organizations can be so serenely squashed out of existence..” (Thoreau, Walden 238). While being on his “adventure”, Thoreau was able to observe all of the little things in nature, and appreciate all of the little things. While in civilization, one would not be able to notice such things because there are much too many people around to notice. While on his journey, McCandless “No longer.
In an odd twist, he even challenges the fact that is isolated with the quote “What sort of space is that which separates a man from his fellows and makes him solitary?” By challenging the distance required to call someone “solitary,” Thoreau argues that he is not all on his own but is instead slightly distanced from the rest of the world. He states that physical proximity does not equate to mental proximity. “ No exertion of the legs can bring two minds much nearer to one another” is how he states it, and so he believed that his books and papers were just as effective as face-to-face communication in spreading his message. Though that idea may be debatable, by refuting the space between his cabin on Walden Pond and the rest of society Thoreau puts himself closer to the audience than they may have previously thought he
Mel Levine’s book, A Mind at a Time, describes many aspects of cognitive psychology and attempts to apply them to the educational system for young children. This book also makes suggestions for parents that have children with cognitive difficulties. The chapters in this book are designated to various aspects of cognitive psychology as they pertain to children. This paper focuses on chapter six in A Mind at a Time, which is titled “Making Arrangements: Our Spatial and Sequential Ordering Systems.” This is a very interesting chapter because it incorporates many aspects of cognitive psychology. In this chapter, Levine focuses on how children organize their world in terms of learning, thinking, and remembering.
In his world-famous thought-provoking novel, Walden, Henry David Thoreau presents his readers with a simple, inspirational guide for living. Written beside the beautiful Walden pond and completely surrounded by an unencumbered natural world, Thoreau writes about his own relationship with the beauty that surrounds him. His book provides an outlet for everyone to learn from his lessons learned in nature, whether they be city-dwellers or his own neighbors. One of Thoreau's most prominent natural lessons running throughout his novel is that of his deeply rooted sense of himself and his connection with the natural world. He relates nature and his experiences within it to his personal self rather than society as a whole. Many times in the novel, Thoreau urges his readers to break away from their societal expectations and to discover for themselves a path that is not necessarily the one most trodden. He explains that everyone should "be a Columbus to whole new continents and worlds within you, opening new channels, not of trade, but of thought (341)." Walden inspires its readers to break out of the mold of tradition, away from outwardly imposed expectations, and out of the loyalty to society over loyalty to oneself in order to find truth and self in nature.
In a world of overpopulation and crowds the idea of solitude is foreign. Many people take “retreats” or trips to escape and find peace with themselves. However, these same people usually return to civilization and to familiar faces. The Wanderer in the lyric poem does not have this luxury; he is alone and will never see his kinsmen’s faces again. It is not just seeing these friends, however, that pains the Wanderer the most: “There is now none among the living to whom I dare clearly express the thought of my heart.” Being able to...
...rs solitude to be of great importance in achieving an individualistic understanding. He writes, “It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” Here it can be seen that Emerson also recognizes solitude to be a beneficial thing to people, but he argues that to be able to remain an individual within society is a far greater achievement. To be able to think without the assistance of society while enduring the pressures of society is to be truly great.
Throughout Thoreau's “Walden”, he lays out many suggestions that some may take as significant or just senseless. Thoreau brings forth many concepts about things such as necessity, news, transcendentalism, and labor which would benefit modern society. Yet, his views on isolation and frugality are unattainable in a technology-driven society. Even though the ideas that could benefit society may not be totally agreeable, the main reasoning for them are valid. Those ideas of isolation and moderation are clearly not possible in a world where people crave to be social and live to obtain any and everything they want.
The Canadian Prairies are notorious for its winter’s harsh, unforgiving climate. They represent not only humankind’s perseverance for survival, but unrelenting isolation, and the despair that can follow. In “The Painted Door” by Sinclair Ross, a discontent housewife gives into temptation after being left alone by her husband. A person will attempt to defy isolation, because when left alone, they will give in to temptatious thoughts, affecting their view on their relationships. Physical solitude will dictate if an individual choose to give into temptation, and when they do, it will change their amorous affairs forever. An individual’s independent reflection after giving into temptation will reveal their true feelings,
Silence fills the air. A man in his late 20’s lies in a handmade hut in a private 14 acre woodlot known as Walden Pond. Two essays are strewn across the mossy floor: Self Reliance and Nature. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard outside. It turns out that the man’s mother came with freshly baked cookies and some food for breakfast. Later on that day, more footsteps could be heard. Outside, a group of people had emerged, looking for the young man. Once again, the tranquility of Walden Pond was broken. This man was Thoreau and he was “exploring” the modest life of simplicity by separating himself from society. Living alone in the wilderness is a great way to discover nature and to understand the need for simplicity. In a world filled with bustle
Everyone copes with grief in his or her own ways. Tracy K. Smith, the poet laureate of the United States and
In the “natural state”, Rousseau suggests that we should strip man of all the “supernatural gifts” he may have been given over the course of time. He says we should “consider him, in a word, just as he must have come from the hands of nature, we behold in him an animal weaker than some, and less agile than others; but, taking him all around, the most advantageously organized of any.” He presumes that man’s needs would be easily satisfied. His food was easily gained, as wa...
At first, the idea of escaping into nature was cumbersome. Meandering aimlessly concerned me. My mind was stained with negative thoughts of solitude and being alone first felt demoralizing, but slowly my earlier assumption dissipated, fully disappearing from the subconscious once I broke the boundary and stepped into nature. Emerson notes, “In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, - no disgrace, no calamity, (leaving me my eyes,) which nature cannot repair” (8). I too believe what Emerson says. In my own rush to “fit in” I dismissed my own morals accepted others as if they were my own. I put my energy into modeling myself according to the contemplation of others, all the while ignoring principles
“Man was/is born free, and everywhere he is chains” (46) is one of Rousseau’s most famous quotes from his book. He is trying to state the fact that by entering into the restrictive early societies that emerged after the state of nature, man was being enslaved by authoritative rulers and even “one who believes himself to be the master of others is nonetheless a greater slave than they” (Rousseau 46). However, Rousseau is not advocating a return to the state of nature as he knows that would be next to impossible once man has been exposed to the corruption of society, but rather he is looking for a societ...