Transcendentalism

media type="youtube" key="H6UvQ4x9T6Q" height="158" width="281"

Transcendentalism is. . . 1. a literary movement 2. philosophic conception 3. epistemology (a way of knowing) 4. all of the above

**Transcendentalism** **What is Transcendentalism?** It was a movement in American literature that focused on transcending, or rising above and going beyond, the normal ways of thought. Transcendentalism believed that humans could elevate themselves beyond their basic animal instincts, attain a higher consciousness, and take part in the spirit of the divine (God).

**What did Transcendentalists focus on?** **Who were the Transcendentalists?** Henry David Thoreau (Walden, Civil Disobedience) Ralph Waldo Emerson ("Nature", "Self-Reliance")
 * A deep appreciation for nature
 * Emotion over reason and logic
 * Belief in the self and the potential of the individual
 * creativity and imagination
 * A universal spirit; a spark of divinity in every individual

**Other Transcendentalists:** Amos Bronson Alcott William Ellery Channing Margaret Fuller

Concord Hymn (DOC 27 KB) by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Summary and Analysis of "Nature" (DOC 26 KB) by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Walden Worksheet (DOC 33 KB) a worksheet covering Walden by Henry David Thoreau

Transcendentalism Summary (DOC 70 KB) A summary covering the major ideas and topics Chart (PDF 97 KB) this chart helps you follow the major ideas of the movement

Transcendentalism This video describes and summarizes Transcendentalism in way that is easy to understand

Characteristics of Transcendentalism 1. Believed in living closer to nature (Thoreau) 2. Believed in the dignity of manual labor (Thoreau) 3. Saw the need for intellectual companions and interests (Brook Farm, Margaret Fuller, The Dial) 4. Emphasized the need for spiritual living 5. Considered man's relationship to God a personal matter established directly by the individual himself 6. Posited the essential divinity of man (versus Calvinism's tenet of innate depravity) 7. Urged one great brotherhood (the Oversoul, the unity of all things) 8. Proposed self-trust and self-reliance 9. Believed in democracy and individualism 10. Encouraged reform (to awaken and regenerate the spirit) 11. Insisted on a complete break with tradition and custom 12. Know through intuition

It was a movement in American literature that focused on transcending, or rising above and going beyond, the normal ways of thought. Transcendentalism believed that humans could elevate themselves beyond their basic animal instincts, attain a higher consciousness, and take part in the spirit of the divine (God).
 * Transcendentalism** is a religious and philosophical movement that was developed during the late 1820s and '30s in the Eastern region of the United States as a protest against the general state of spirituality and, in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University and the doctrine of the Unitarian ...
 * What is Transcendentalism?**

Henry David Thoreau (Walden, Civil Disobedience) Ralph Waldo Emerson ("Nature", "Self-Reliance")
 * What did Transcendentalists focus on?**
 * A deep appreciation for nature
 * Emotion over reason and logic
 * Belief in the self and the potential of the individual
 * creativity and imagination
 * A universal spirit; a spark of divinity in every individual
 * Who were the Transcendentalists?**

Amos Bronson Alcott William Ellery Channing Margaret Fuller http://teacherpages.hallco.org/webpages/nlyon/american.cfm?subpage=981758
 * Other Transcendentalists:**