Transcendentalism refers to a conglomerate of certain literary and philosophical ideas that are similar in context and meaning (Transcendentalism). According to Lewis’ What is Transcendentalism, the ideas being referred to were the offspring of a movement that started in the United States during the fist half of the 19th century before the civil war.
It is a system of philosophy that ‘emphasizes intuition as a means of knowing a spiritual reality‘ and it asserts that the spiritual or divinity is the primary and is above the natural (or physical) (Microsoft Encarta).Main BodyTranscendentalism emerged with Immanuel Kant, a German Philosopher renown for his critical thinking ability. However, the concept is mostly associated with the crusaders of the idea at about the mid-19th century in the United States (Microsoft Encarta). Lewis’ What is Transcendentalism regarded individuals like Ralph Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller and so on as prominent among the people identified with this movement at that this time and these people are referred to as transcendentalists.Lewis’ What is Transcendentalism explained that the emergence of transcendentalism movement in America was more of a revolt against the fact that the ideas of the erstwhile European colonial masters were still rooted within the society years after gaining independence. The transcendentalists believe that there is a need to gain independence absolutely.
Their argument is that America need to emerge out of literary dependence if absolute independence will be achieved.This is explains the reason why most of the crusaders then were essayists, novelists, philosophers, poets, and the likes. They clamored for a body of literature that is typically American in both context and nature. In addition, Lewis’ What is Transcendentalism highlighted that the transcendentalist movement also reacted against the rigidly applied theory of faith and predestination (whatever will be will be as predetermined by God) that has been permeating the American society also because of their European colonial affiliations.
Though this theory had been contested earlier in Europe to a level, the transcendentalists believed that the campaign against it has not been seriously successful. The idea being raised against the Calvinist theory is that God himself is revealed in man by the gifts he has given him and it only by the means of applying these gifts that the spiritual nature in man can be emancipated. Specifically speaking, man’s gift of intuition is a precious gift that would not have been given to him if it were not going to be useful.In the light of this, Lewis’ What is Transcendentalism further explained that the movement then called for a move towards ‘an intuitive, experiential, passionate’ perception of nature and physical occurrences rather hiding under the canopy of the supremacy of the Divine to give rational explanations.
The Transcendentalists were also involved in anti-slavery and women's rights campaign. They believed that, every one has a right to ‘freedom, knowledge and truth. ’ Therefore, the idea that people with European blood are more qualified for freedom should not come up at all (Transcendentalism).ConclusionThough the transcendentalists reacted against slavery and total American emancipation, Lewis’ What is Transcendentalism was of the opinion that the movement was instrumental to the civil war that the country experienced later.
Needless to say, the call for slavery abolition was the underlining cause of the war and this was one of the main messages of the transcendentalists. However, though it may seem then that this was a seemingly negative impact, the current state and stand of the American society presently has reflected that the efforts of the freedom fighting and intuition emancipation did not go down the drain.
