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2 Three Stages of Transcendentalism
The author would like to introduce Transcendentalism from its origin and development, Emerson’s transcendental discipline which shows the most main stream of the transcendental idea，and its amazing influence not only in literature, but also in philosophy.
2.1 Origin and Development of Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism was intimately connected with Concord, which was the first rural artist's colony, and the first place to offer a spiritual and cultural alternative to American materialism. It was a place of high-minded conversation and simple living. As a moral philosophy, transcendentalism is neither logical nor systematized. It exalts feeling over reason and the individual expression over the restraints of law and custom. Transcendentalism has been defined as the recognition in man of the capacity of acquiring knowledge by transcending the reach of the five senses, of knowing truth intuitively. The major ideas accompanied transcendentalism can be summarized in the following four points. The first one is it stresses the power of intuition. It believes that people could learn things both from the outside world by means of the five senses and from the inner world by intuition, yet the things we learn from the inner world are definitely truer than those we learn from the outside world. It holds the points of view that everyone could have access to a source of knowledge that transcended the daily experiences of sensation and reflection. Intuition is the inner light within. The second one is that as the romantic idealism, it places spirit first and matter second. It believes that both spirit and matter are real, while the reality of the spirit is far greater than that of the matter. Spirit transcends matter, as the permanent reality is the spiritual one. Transcendentalism stresses the essence behind the appearance. The third one is it takes nature as symbols belonging to the spirit of God. Everything in the universe is viewed as an expression of the divine spirit in transcendentalism. Nature is God’s enlightenment towards human beings, so it could exercise a healthy and restorative influence on human mind. The forth one is it emphasizes the significance of the individual as the most important element in the society. It believes that the ideal individual is self-reliant and unselfish. It holds that there is a kind of greatness in every person that needs to be set free.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, an advocate of Transcendental Movement, published his essay Nature in 1836 which represented a new way of intellectual thinking in America. This new voice led American Romanticism to a new and mature period, the period of New England Transcendentalism. This was the most significant development of American literature in the middle of 19th century. It was a system of thought that originated from three sources. Firstly, William Ellery Channing was an American Unitarian clergyman. His Unitarianism represented a thoughtful revolt against orthodox Puritanism. Unitarianism believed God as one being, rejecting the doctrine of trinity, stressing the tolerance of difference in religious opinion, and giving each congregation the free control of its own affairs and its independent authority. It laid the foundation for the central doctrines of transcendentalism. Secondly, the idealistic philosophy from France and Germany exerted enormous impact on American intellectuals. Thirdly, oriental mysticism reached America in English translations. As a result, New England Transcendentalism blended native American tradition with foreign influences.
2.2 Emerson’s Transcendental Discipline
In 1836, Emerson published a little book entitled Nature marked the transition from American Romanticism into New England Transcendentalism, the summit of American Romanticism. The word “transcendental” was not native to America but a Kantian term denoting, as Emerson puts it “Whatever belongs to the class of intuitive thought.”