1 / 13

Transcendentalism

Transcendentalism. An important American Literary and Philosophical Movement (though NOT a religion) 1830s to 1860s. What Do You Think?. Western Religious Evolution. The Catholic Pope interpreted the will of God He instructed his clergy and the monarchies They instructed the people

rollin
Download Presentation

Transcendentalism

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Transcendentalism An important American Literary and Philosophical Movement (though NOT a religion)1830s to 1860s

  2. What Do You Think?

  3. Western Religious Evolution • The Catholic Pope interpreted the will of God • He instructed his clergy and the monarchies • They instructed the people • Henry VIII & Protestant Reformation • Declared he knew the will of God • The Bible is translated into English • More people read and become literate • In the U.S. and England, the individual felt they could interpret the will of God

  4. Transcend (v) • to go beyond a limit or range, for example, of thought or belief • So, TRANSCENDENTALISM, at its core is about “moving beyond” common experience and understanding. • In order to connect with God, and understand yourself you must go beyond the physical world and search for spiritual connections with others and nature.

  5. Transcendentalism • The idea that in determining the ultimate reality of God, the universe, the self, and other important matters, one must transcend, or go beyond, everyday human experience in the physical world. • Also based on Romantic ideas • Based on intuition; optimistic

  6. Basics of Transcendentalism • There is a direct connection between the universe and the individual soul • By thinking about objects in nature, people can transcend the world and discover a union with the Over-Soul • Follow your intuition and beliefs no matter how much they differ from the social norms • All people are inherently good

  7. So who were a few Transcendentalists? • Ralph Waldo Emerson (former Unitarian minister from Massachusetts who became the most well known Transcendentalist.) • Henry David Thoreau (his pupil, the son of pencil maker who dropped out of society to live a solitary and transcendent life).

  8. Transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau

  9. Why did Transcendentalism become popular? • As with Romanticism, Americans felt that there must be more to life than logical, rational experience. • The Transcendentalists sought to regain a spirituality that they thought was missing from current thought and philosophy.

  10. TranscendentalismWith a partner answer the following questions. • How are you affected by nature? Do you find comfort in it? Do you reflect the moods of nature? • What is the role of nature in your life? • What is meant by an individual’s spiritual side? How do you define it? • What is the connection between the individual’s spirit and nature? • What does it mean to know something intuitively? • How do you demonstrate that you are an individual? Do you think independently of others or do you follow the crowd?

More Related