Undated image of an engraving of Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ideology: A Personal God
1. Emerson recounts a conversation with a religious friend who tells him not to listen to his impulses, as they may be of the Devil. Emerson replies “… if I am the Devil’s child, I will live then from the Devil.” He views a person’s relationship with the Christian god as something that is deeply personal, so religious rituals and the opinions of others are irrelevant. He even says that he prefers the “silent church” to “a Christianity entrenched in establishments.”
Ideology: The Individual and Society
Ideology: The Individual and Society
2. Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” could also be titled “Pride.” I think that Emerson disregarded the idea that wisdom is not only found from within and from personal experiences but also from others and what people teach one another. To believe that one can succeed in life without the wisdom of others is a bit foolish.
Ideology: Children and Society
3. [Emerson] argues that people, especially Americans, do not act on instinct enough and instead “surrender liberty.” Emerson believes that “imitation is suicide” which is caused by adults copying one another because they think it is what they are supposed to do. He writes that we should instead be like children or animals as “their eye is as yet unconquered” by what adults (society) believe to be proper. If one where to allow their “childlike” wonder and instinct to shine through, then one would be one step closer to being “great.”
3. [Emerson] argues that people, especially Americans, do not act on instinct enough and instead “surrender liberty.” Emerson believes that “imitation is suicide” which is caused by adults copying one another because they think it is what they are supposed to do. He writes that we should instead be like children or animals as “their eye is as yet unconquered” by what adults (society) believe to be proper. If one where to allow their “childlike” wonder and instinct to shine through, then one would be one step closer to being “great.”
Ideology: The unity of all things
4. This excerpt from “Self-Reliance,” by Ralph Waldo Emerson sings the tune of that of a Taoist—endorsing the universal nature of all things in statements such as, “These roses under my window make no reference to former roses or to better ones; they are for what they are; they exist with God to-day. There is no time to them. There is simply the rose; it is perfect in every moment of its existence.” Emerson is placing the rose (a symbol of nature, a symbol of beauty, a symbol of nature’s beauty) on a pedestal in order to encourage mankind to embrace their essential qualities, those immutable truths of our character.
4. This excerpt from “Self-Reliance,” by Ralph Waldo Emerson sings the tune of that of a Taoist—endorsing the universal nature of all things in statements such as, “These roses under my window make no reference to former roses or to better ones; they are for what they are; they exist with God to-day. There is no time to them. There is simply the rose; it is perfect in every moment of its existence.” Emerson is placing the rose (a symbol of nature, a symbol of beauty, a symbol of nature’s beauty) on a pedestal in order to encourage mankind to embrace their essential qualities, those immutable truths of our character.
5. Emerson’s [advocacy] for self-reliance retains elements of Eastern philosophy, such as Taoism, as I will define as the act of inaction and the release of attachments to expectation. To qualify this claim, I present the following quotation from his excerpt: “He who travels to be amused, or to get somewhat which he does not carry, travels away from himself, and grows old even in youth among old things. In Thebes, in Palmyra, his will and mind have become old and dilapidated as they. He carries ruins to ruins.” This notion suggests that to desire something, to form an attachment to an expectation, is falling short of the beauty and goal of life. From the Tao te Ching, there exists a similar quote, reading, “The Master’s power is like this. He lets all things come and go effortlessly, without desire. He never expects results; thus he is never disappointed. He is never disappointed; thus his spirit never grows old” [(55)]. Like the Tao te Ching, Emerson is arguing that true satisfaction is found from within oneself, and that the senseless pursuit of expectation will leave one feeling unfulfilled.
Ideology: The Benefits of Travel
6. I felt a certain interest in Emerson’s idea of travel, that I feel is very relevant to our world. “Travelling is a fool’s paradise,” said Emerson, “We owe our first journeys the discovery that place is nothing.” What I think he means by this is that people travel to discover new places and new experiences, the allure of it all. But at the end of the day, we are stuck with ourselves wherever we go, and cannot escape that. Emerson gives a scenario in which he paints a picture of this idea. Emerson says that “at home, I dream that at Naples, at Rome, I can be intoxicated with beauty, and lose my sadness.” However, when he wakes up, realizes that “there is the stern Fact, the sad self, unrelenting, identical, that I fled from.” This metaphorical situation introduced by Emerson is in reality a situation that happens every single day. People feel sadness, depression, and discontentment. So, they try to run away from those problems, by either travelling or simply leaving their houses. Instead of doing what should really be done, confronting the problems head on, and recognizing what is causing ill feelings.
Ideology: The Benefits of Study
7. Emerson mentioned something that I do not entirely agree with [...:]“Every great man is a unique… Shakespeare will never be made by the study of Shakespeare” (Emerson). This is a great point, originality and innovation are key in this area, but Emerson’s argument here feels as though influence and inspiration did not play a role in helping create a “great man”. I agree that a Shakespeare will not be made by studying Shakespeare, but I do not believe that anyone can become a “great man” just by being entirely unique. There’s a sense of genius to their originality that can not be fully replicated, but their influence can help guide others to that level.Ideology: The Individual and Society
8. Emerson does not believe the [progress] of society means that individuals themselves improve. He believes that people only approve when they look inward and not outward, and that limiting your view of success to the success of society as a whole will leave you unfulfilled. He argues that being a man means being a “nonconformist” and that life is for the individual “not for a spectacle”.
9. Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” could also be titled “Pride.” I think that Emerson disregarded the idea that wisdom is not only found from within and from personal experiences but also from others and what people teach one another. To believe that one can succeed in life without the wisdom of others is a bit foolish.
10. He has quite a [skeptical] view of society and appears to be against working for someone, considering other people’s ideas and charitable efforts. He claims, “we have an ambition out of all proportion to our practical force, and so do beg day and night continually.” Although I can see the point he is trying to make in that one should always exercise their own awareness and truth so as not to be coerced into one centralized mentality, I think he could be neglecting to see a crucial element to evolution. Regardless of if you agree or disagree with the mechanics of society, refusing to see other opinions or beliefs can in some sense jeopardize the potential for change.
Quotations and Questions for Consideration
11. "To
believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private
heart is true for all men,--that is genius" (596).
- Compare with imperialism
- Question: Is Emerson’s attitude friendly to imperialism?
12. "An institution is the lengthened shadow of one
man; as, Monachism, of the Hermit Antony; the Reformation, of Luther;
Quakerism, of Fox; Methodism, of Wesley; Abolition, of Clarkson. Scipio, Milton
called 'the height of Rome'; and all history resolves itself very easily into
the biography of a few stout and earnest persons" (602).
- Compare the "Great Man" theory of history
with the views of Marx and Tolstoy
- Question: Does the “Great Man” theory of history encourage
particular political attitudes? Is it anti-democratic, for example?
- Question: Which is a greater threat in society today: “herd
mentality” or individual arrogance?
13. "[The
child, the babe, the brute] cumbers himself never about consequences, about interests: he gives an independent genuine verdict"
(597).
- Compare with Kant's "categorical imperative"
- Question: Which is a greater threat in society today: people who think too much about the consequences of their actions (including how these actions will be seen and judged by others) or people who do what they think is right and don’t think about the consequences at all?
8.
14. "Discontent is the want of self-reliance; it is infirmity of will. Regret calamaties, if you can thereby help the sufferer; if not, attend your own work, and already the evil begins to be repaired. Our sympathy is just as base. We come to them who weep foolishly, and sit down and cry for company, instead of imparting to them truth and health in rough electric shocks, putting them once more in communication with the soutl. The secret of fortune is joy in our hands Welcome evermore to gods and men is the self-helping man. For him all doors are flung wide" (608).
15. "The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet. . . . He has got a fine Geneva watch, but he has lost the skill to tell the hour by the sun. A Greenwich nautical almanac he has, and so being sure of the information when he wants it, the man in the street does not know a star in the sky. The solstice he does not observe; the equinox he knows as little; and the ; and the whole bright calendar of the year is without a dial in his mind. His notebooks impair his memory . . ." (611).
- Compare with Thoreau
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