What Shaped Transcendentalism - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 621 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/07/03 Category Philosophy Essay Level High school Tags: Transcendentalism Essay Did you like this example? According to a professor at Stanford University, transcendentalism is an idealistic philosophical and social movement that developed in and around New England during the 1830s, in reply to rationalism. The movement was influenced by romanticism, Platonism, and Kantian philosophy, and taught others that divinity extends all nature and humanity. Followers of transcendentalism held progressive views on communal living and feminism. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were two of the many central figures, who were leaders of the transcendentalist movement. Transcendentalism first started when a group of Christians separated from the church because they did not agree with the old puritan views. Some of the views included the inescapability of human evil and wickedness, and that one could not choose salvation. The Christians that left, believed more in the unity of God than the supposed Trinity of God. Those people became the Unitarians. The Unitarians integrated a thought that both David Hume, and John Locke believed in, and that thought was empiricism. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "What Shaped Transcendentalism?" essay for you Create order Empiricism is a theory that knowledge comes only or primarily from experiences your senses have. Empiricism can be seen in Emersons essay titled Nature. To go into solitude, a man needs to retire as much from his chamber as from society. I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me. But if a man would be alone, let him look at the stars. The rays that come from those heavenly worlds, will separate between him and what he touches. Emerson also goes on to say in his essay titled Self Reliance to Accept the place the divine providence1 has found for you, essentially stating that you as a person should accept nature for it is created and given to us by God. Emerson and Thoreau were not the only people of the public who supported transcendentalism, and not all supporters were male. Margaret Fuller was one of the prominent unofficial female leaders of transcendentalism. Fuller wrote the essay titled Women In The Nineteenth Century bringing in the thought that for women, knowledge does not need to be taken from experiences your senses have in nature, but also indoors while reading books. In our own country, women are, in many respects, better situated than men. Good books are allowed, with more time to read them. While thinking about it, books and poetry were made by humans, who were made by God. With the works of Emerson, Fuller, and Thoreau, six main categories of transcendentalism were formed. Those categories are; simplicity, nonconformity, self-reliance, civil disobedience, connection to nature, and hard work. Now the question is, do we see transcendentalism and the six different categories in our daily lives? Yes, we do, even if we dont know it. The Amish live simply, living off the land, not having a lot of materialistic items. Hipsters are nonconformists, going against the grain of others in their daily life. The Little Engine That Could is an example of self-reliance because he made it up the big mountain. Rosa Parks and MLK represent civil disobedience, for standing up against racism. Buddhism for a connection to nature, because they believe in surrounding themselves in nature when worshiping and meditating for a closer connection to Buddha. Finally Gabby Douglas for hard work, with her commitment to practicing to become an Olympic gold medalist. What shaped transcendentalism? To put it simply, the essay writers, supporters, enthusiasts, the Unitarians, and wanting to believe in the goodness around them, despite the negativity, the wars, the destruction of our planet, and ourselves. Nevertheless, there might also be other categories and types of people we dont know about. As the country changes, will transcendentalism be shaped even further, will it continue to grow, or will it crumble?

Overcome, Or Slowly Destroy - 850 Words

Overcome, or Slowly Destroy? (Challenges Hamlet Faces In Act 1 and 2 Of Hamlet by William Shakespeare) In our lives there will be many obstacles that get in our way. A lot of the time you can tell a lot about a person in the way that they respond to the obstacles. Really there is only two ways that people can respond to the challenges. The first way is one of the higher standings more so, it is that of the person that fights to overcome this. They do anything to triumph over the impediment. The second way would be one of the more common routes in this situation. The second is that of just simply giving up and letting it completely break you down and crush the person that you are. In a lot of the plays written by William Shakespeare, his main characters are faced with many difficult obstructions. It is one way that he really gets his points across in these stories. He does exactly this in his play Hamlet. In the play Hamlet, the main character Hamlet has to overcome many challenges that are presented to him almost immediately in the play. One of the first challenges Hamlet is faced wi th is finding out that his father was actually murdered by Claudius. The reason that this could be so difficult for Hamlet is because at first everyone thought and was told that Hamlet’s father was in the garden and bit by a serpent. He only finds this out when the ghost of his father comes to him and tells him. The ghost tells Hamlet, â€Å"... The serpent that did sting thy father’s life/ NowShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Great Gatsby: American Dream or American Nightmare?1739 Words   |  7 PagesGatsby betrays his morals and destroys himself. Through the eyes of the narrator, Nick, one sees the extent of the corruption Gatsby is willing to undertake in order to achieve his dream. Although Fitzgerald applauds the American Dream he warns against the dangers of living in a world full of illusions and deceit; a trait common during the Roaring 20s. The language and plot devices Fitzgerald uses convey that lies and facades, which were common during the Guided Age, dest roys one’s own character and moralsRead MoreAdversity In Richard Connells The Sniper And The Most Dangerous Game724 Words   |  3 Pagesalive. These hunting strategies kill General Zaroff’s bodyguard, dogs, and destroys the General’s strategies; so, Rainsford wins the game. After the game, Rainsford gets his revenge by killing General Zaroff. The quality that someone needs to overcome adversity is determination because determination forces people to work extremely hard to accomplish and push through their difficult situation. Determination is needed to overcome adversity because it forces people to push past their limits and make themselvesRead MoreThe Fear Within the Boys in Lord of the Flies by William Golding904 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The thing is – fear can’t hurt you any more than a dream† (â€Å"William Golding quotes.†). Fear lives to haunt and torment the person to a point of destruction and can be within everyone. Although a person is able to overcome fear, it is still very dangerous because it affects the person as well as everyone and everything around. In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the boys are all so overwhelmed by fear that the island starts to recede into a state damaged beyond repair. In this caseRead More The Three Unique Characters of Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher689 Words   |  3 Pagesinfluence of his own fantastic yet impressive superstitions.† As time went by Roderick’s condition worsened and so did the narrators. When Roderick finally discovers that he prematurely buried his sister Madeline, his condition reaches it’s peak , destroys him mentally, and causes the narrator to leave the house in absolute terror. Roderick Usher, the head of the house, is and educated man. He comes from a wealty family and owns a huge house. He seemed to have once been an attractive man inRead MoreThe Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinback743 Words   |  3 Pagesturtle. He uses an entire chapter to symbolize the sand turtle as the Joads. The sand turtle attempts to cross the road in chapter three. The turtle slowly crosses the highway, attempting to reach his goal, the other side, to find a new place. As the turtle crosses, it faces obstacles. Such as passing cars and even starting off in the first place. It slowly but surely crosses the road, and eventually reaches his goal. This is just like the Joads predicament. The Joads are in need of a new place to goRead MoreAllegory Of The Cave And Pi Essay1596 Words   |  7 PagesThe process of apprehending true knowledge is a task unfit for those who cannot overcome the concepts that the truth is associated with. This task of discovering knowledge tests an indivi dual and their dedication to the process. However, this process is grueling and does not always yield the expected or desired result. According to philosophers, such as Socrates and Plato, humans are born with innate knowledge that becomes accessible through reasoning and life experiences. Plato’s The Allegory ofRead MoreMigration Is A Positive And Empowering New Start1549 Words   |  7 Pagesjob. â€Å"Social migration† is when you are migrating to start a new life or to live closer to your family. â€Å"Political migration† is when people are moving to escape corrupted government or civil war. â€Å"Environmental migration† is when natural disasters destroy homes and people try to start a new life in a new country. Those in a problematic situation, tend to live and work in the shadows, they are too afraid to complain and are not allowed the rights and freedoms of a human person. During migration thereRead MoreEssay about The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein997 Words   |  4 PagesBilbo ends up saving the party from many dangerous situations. This is something that at first Bilbo finds hard to believe because he has very low self-esteem. The group always seems to find themselves in worse, and worse problems, but they always overcome these problems, with the help of Bilbo and some times Gandalf. Some of these problems include: getting caught by trolls, getting captured by goblins, being attacked by large wolves called Wargs, one of the dwarves falls into a coma from touchingRead MoreNegative Effects Of Colonialism1253 Words   |  6 Pagesfollowed by others like him and that he would destroy their way of life, so they killed him. Not long after that, other white men killed the people of the village. The colonialism conception proactively takes its place throughout the Igbo culture and results in tragedy. Cultures and tribes experienced colonialism prematurely. They were taken over before they could finish building the foundation they needed to prosper. Once they were conquered, they slowly fell short of confidence and pride they onceRead MoreHow The Future Will Judge Us?1215 Words   |  5 Pagessame time around 14,000 elderly folks and grandparents were left to die in the overwhelming temperatures (Appiah 526). Appiah also addresses the environment and the industrial production of meat which tend to spread different kinds of diseases and destroy the natural ecology and resources. Looking back at such conditions, it is anything but difficult to ask: â€Å"What were individuals considering?† (Appiah 525) One of his more important issues is that no other country has as extensive a populace in jail

Destiny in the Aeneid Essay Example For Students

Destiny in the Aeneid Essay Destiny in The AeneidFate, in the Ancient Greek and Roman world, was one of the great unchangeable powers that stand above even the gods in the hierarchy of supernatural forces. The Greeks and Romans thought that the Fates were three ancient women who spun the web of destiny together. Each mans life is a thread, and the fates would draw it out and cut it as they saw fit. The gods themselves had to obey the Fates, for even they had golden threads. Fate plays a very large role in Virgils epic The Aeneid. Aeneas, the central character, knows from the beginning of his journey that he will ultimately found Rome. This is not to suggest that fate has chosen him in an arbitrary manner. Aeneas is destined to be great because he possesses great attributes. Fate is a powerful force in the Greek and especially Roman eras, and it is the major theme in Virgils Aeneid. He is destined to outlive the Trojan War, lead his people on a long voyage, and ultimately create Rome. In this journey, however, Aeneas is forced to lose many people who are close to him. His wife, Creusa, must die so that he can leave Troy and eventually marry an Italian woman to start Rome. He also must leave his lover Dido for this same reason. Aeneas readiness to part with those who are so dear to him alludes to his acceptance to fate and its predominant role in his life. Aeneas destiny profoundly affects the people in his life, usually in a negative way. His first wife, Creusa, dies while Troy burns. With Creusa dead in Troy, Aeneas is free both legally and morally to marry another woman when he finally does arrive in Italy. This is extremely important, because the Italians establish family lines through the mother, and Aeneas will need to marry an Italian princess in order for his descendants to found Rome in the future. His second lover, Dido, commits suicide because Aeneas leaves her. His father dies, so that he can tell him of his future descendants and their accomplishments. Lavinias father tears her from one betrothal and throws her into another without any thought to her feelings. Despite this, each persons pain serves a specific purpose. Without these events, Aeneas may not have been able to continue his quest that eventually leads to the founding of Rome. Although Aeneas could do nothing to change his fate, this does not mean that their characters had nothing to do with the turns their lives took. Aeneas succeeds by yielding his own apprehensions and desires to the demands of fate and his faithfulness to his people. Aeneas responsibility to his country makes him a great leader, and he is fated to succeed. Fate reflects the kind of person involved, perhaps too harshly or agreeably, but not without some justification. Fate, in the Greek and Roman cultures, was a force of great power. Virgil presents a character whose life is touched irrevocably by fate. Fate isnt fair; Dido and Creusa have tragic fates, even though they may not have done anything wrong. But someones fate may also reflect the kind of person involved. Virgil makes this point: fate may be inevitable, but it is not illogical. Those who are destined to be great are great because it is there nature to be extraordinary.

Just For Fun free essay sample

I know I shouldn’t make such a fuss. You were only joking around. I shouldn’t have taken it seriously when you told the whole class that I was pregnant, it was just a joke. It was hilarious when you told our classmates that I was an alcoholic and everyone kept asking me what I was drinking. And hey, just for kicks and giggles let’s bring it up in front of my teachers. That’ll be a laugh. . . . I don’t mind that you blew off our final exam project to go to that party. I mean really, as long as you had fun we’re square. It’s cool, I didn’t need to turn in a complete project (it was only 40% of our grade). You went swimming in your clothes? Wow! that sounds fun. Too bad our Spanish professor wasn’t there. Maybe he would have given us some bonus points for that wicked cannonball. We will write a custom essay sample on Just For Fun or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Maybe not as many points as if your half of the project were finished, but it sure was funny when you read off the menu from Taco Bell instead of the script I wrote up for you. Maybe if you hadn’t kept referring to Don Quixote as a Beaniard the professor would quit giving you dirty looks, but I get it- you’re just goofing. . . . To the guy in the restaurant complaining about the last time he got pulled over: I can’t believe that officer didn’t believe you when you said you were undercover chasing Nazis. Doesn’t he know our national security is at stake? He doesn’t need to know you were talking about the Nazi zombies in that video game you were rushing to be first in line for. Clearly, the police don’t have a sense of humor. I mean really, no traffic cop in his right mind should pull over anyone going 88 mph; Delorean or not, the intent is clear. So it was a school zone. Any kid in school on a day that sunny clearly needs more exciteme nt. And to the gentleman in the red Camaro: I hope you are having a blast clocking 100 mph through the tunnel. No, you didn’t cut me off—you just changed lanes six inches in front of me to get around the guy with the audacity to only be going ten miles over the speed limit . He on the other hand clearly deserved to be cut off. Maybe next time he’ll let loose a little and race you. Man, if those traffic cops would just get off your back you could have so much more fun. . . . No really, it’s fine, I don’t mind you puking all over the back of my car. Sounds like you had a wicked great time. How many shots? That’s insane! And I thought I was having a good time hanging out with my friends at that concert and meeting the whole band, but there’s nothing more fun than the fun you can’t remember having. I don’t mind that I had to drive 40 miles to pick you up. You were living it up way too much to think ahead about a ride home. And I don’t know what those people were so worked up about. So what that you put a little vodka in the punch. You were just spreading the cheer. And what is a party without some recreational drug use? It’s not like you’re an addict. I get it. I’m sure the cops would get it too if they weren’t such sticklers about that whole law thing. . . . To the stud who just dumped my best friend: of course, she is being unreasonable. Doesn’t she get that you were living for the moment? Why would she think you meant it when you said you loved her? Doesn’t she know that’s all part of the game? Why should she think that saying you needed her meant you were serious? Doesn’t she know that relationships in college are just experimentation? Sex is just for pleasure; it doesn’t mean anything! You are right; she is being way too sensitive about this. As long as you were having fun, that’s what counts. And now, you are having fun wit h her sister. Why can’t she be happy for you? . . . You know what’s really a hoot? Arson. I know, right? Think about it. Pouring gasoline, lighting the match, watching the fire eat at the walls—as long as its fun, who cares what burns? And while we’re at it, let’s live action role play Grand Theft Auto V. Shooting sprees and carjackings are a riot in the video game: how much more of a rush will it be in real life? And I’ve heard that if you really want to have a good time, there’s a cult that meets on Thursdays for satanic rituals. The best part is the LSD! Who doesn’t enjoy the merriment of a blood ritual when the knife in their hand is a phoenix feather and the blood turns into liquid music when it hits atmosphere. . . . Honestly, I think I would have a lot more fun without you. You understand. It’s not that I want to kill you. I just can’t enjoy myself as much when I’m dragging you along. Nothing perso nal. Just a matter of fun.