Transcendentalism Touches Modern Culture

What is Transcendentalism? Though this may sound like a new topic to you, its major tenets have been around for almost a century and many are still influencing modern life today. Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century, centered around the premises of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Along with Emerson, other important Transcendentalists including Henry David Thoreau, Emily Dickenson, and Walt Whitman also took on the unconventional morals of this movement. Today, we are going to delve into a few of these major premises practiced by Transcendentalists. The first principal is that God can be found in both nature and human nature. The second principal is embracing individualism. Both of these aspects play key roles in creating the foundation for Transcendentalism that was both seen in the 19th century and modern society.

We are first going to break down the importance of nature. Transcendentalists believed in a monistic universe, or one in which God is immanent in nature. The creation is an emanation of the creator; although a distinct entity, God is permanently and directly present in all things. This thought can be seen in Emerson’s “Nature” on line seven and thirty, “Within these plantations of God, a decorum and sanctity reign… / Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.” Here Emerson metaphorically compares nature to the “plantations of God” in which the spirit of God is always present.

Coming back to that same notion that God is everywhere and in everything, Transcendentalist also believed that there was no need for specific religions or churches. Instead of organized religion, they wanted a direct relationship with God. One way they could conne...

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... much advancement in medicine has been created to improve life. The most common today is the cure for certain viruses. By simply taking a shot containing a vaccine, that took extensive amount of research and self-intuition, one can dramatically reduce their chance of the virus affecting them later on.

Transcendentalism is a movement that practiced morals that were seen as unorthodox. Two of the major premises that shaped the life of a Transcendentalist were the presence of God in nature and empowering individualism. Both of these tenants proved their importance by continuing to influence modern society, life, and thought. These influences have demonstrated to provide a positive impact. They have led to both advancements and reform unto which have improved our way of life. Without these valuable principles, this modern era would not be where it is at today.