David N. Reynolds
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Individualism and Self-Reliance
1803-1882
Born in Boston
Follows seven generations of ministers
Graduated from Harvard
Became a Unitarian minister
After 13 years he retired as a minister and became a traveling minister.
Each evening he lectured for 60 minutes.
He discouraged notetaking believing that people should take away only what they could carry in their memories.
Often associated with transcendentalism.
Transcendentalism
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- Knowledge comes from inside the person
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- Each person knows how to behave if he or she trusts the “inner light”
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- Teaches that intuition transcends reason as a reliable human faculty
Emerson’s followers were encouraged to trust their intuition. They came to be associated with optimism, nationalism, individualism, plain living and high thinking. Many tried to transcend daily preoccupations, such as making and spending money.
After reading Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”, answer these questions
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1. What is self-reliance, according to Emerson?
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2. What kinds of people most need Emerson’s message?
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3. Is it needed in this school?
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4. If Emerson’s message were taken literally, what dangers would there be to organized society?
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5. Emerson said, “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members.” When it is true that society inhibits our personalities? When is this not true?
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6. Emerson said, “The power that resides in him (any individual) is new in nature…” Are all people essentially different?