Ralph Waldo Emerson and His Essays on Nature - Essay Example

and Number of the Teacher’s American Intellectual History I RALPH WALDO EMERSON: ESSAYS ON NATURE Introduction Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was “the first public intellectual in the history of the United States” (Buell 1), and a poet, philosopher and essayist. He is well known for leading the Transcendentalist movement in the mid-nineteenth century. Emerson did not comply with the religious and social philosophy of the time, and developed the phisosophy of Transcendentalism in his work Nature composed of two series of essays in 1836 and 1844, as well as through public speeches (Buell 1). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this research paper is to investigate Ralph Waldo Emerson as a Transcendentalist thinker with reference to his work Nature. Discussion As an ex-minister, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s life was filled with religious thought, expression and performance. The concept of religion was central to Emerson’s “secular” writing, starting his career as a writer with the book Nature which “predicts the coming of the kingdom of heaven and restoration of perfect sight to the blind” (Buell 160). Emerson’s Transcendentalist Thoughts in his Two Works on Nature Emerson’s works such as the two essays on Nature and his essay on The Poet reflect a way of thinking known as Transcendentalism, “a kind of mystical philosophy that emphasizes the primacy of the spiritual over the material and empirical” (Lumpkin 45). In Emerson’s first essay on Nature, the focus was on “spiritual laws” and on “natura naturata” or woods and trees. In the second essay series on Nature the emphasis is on “natura naturans” which depicts nature as a wild force shaping human and non-human beings. Where everything is in motion, including human nature, human mastery can only be considered as a probability and not as a definite outcome (Buell 131). Nature (1836) contains a formal discussion on the unreality of the external world expressed in idealism, experience and illusions. Idealism believes that the mind creates the world, rejects it for leaving God out of oneself, and alienates one from nature. It is important to note that Hinduism according to Emerson contains the liveliest feeling, both of the essential identity of existence and of that illusion which variety is conceptualized to be. Any expressions of ego or possessiveness such as “I am” or “This is mine” happen to be delusions or Maya, and are not based on actual truth (Buell 176). The Language of Nature Emerson’s principle “the quality of the imagination is to flow, and not to freeze” revises Nature’s chapter on language which depicts nature as a book of symbols with fixed meanings. However, in Emerson’s essay The Poet , he appears to be convinced of nature’s fluidity and different dimensions. Thus there is a readjustment of conceptualization rather than a change of heart (Buell 131). Consequently, experiences of nature may differ according to the context. In Emerson’s writings, nature, climate and weather are constant features, appearing in the form of the actions of the planets, the sun and the moon, in the form of the wind, fire and other elements. His references to the Spirit are explained as his equating the wind with Spirit, the former being the etymological origin of the latter word, transformed over a period of time. “This is why the weather in Emerson is in general a principle of articulation among nature, language and history” (Cadava 22). Both nature and writing evolve from the past, based on the principle of transformation; seeking to overcome at each change and have an influence on the future (Cadava 4). In Emerson’s (p.191) essay the method of nature, he states that it is impossible to analyze nature, since nature is fleeting, keeps changing, like the rushing stream, the bird hastening to lay her eggs, the eggs developing to hatch into young ones and further growing into adult birds. The wholeness in that is seen in nature is the result of infinite distribution and the outcome of transformation. Emerson’s Approach to the Use of Nature in Technology and Progress Advocating the exaltation of mankind, Emerson believed that this could be carried out by the right use of the human intellect which held a greater significance than nature. By using the intellect and imagination, mankind could make use of nature and the power of the elements. In his essay Civilization Emerson gives the example of using the water of the river to turn a saw mill. Besides, utilizing the forces of “steam, gravity, galvanism, light, magnet, wind, fire” (Lumpkin 45) are vital in daily living besides being cost-free. In another essay Farming the writer stresses on the importance of nature for the farmer, since the earth responds to the farmer’s work, yielding bountiful harvests. Initially, Emerson did not consider the harnessing of nature to be detrimental to it, or technology to be a threat to nature. Later, he expressed his alarm at the loss of higher goals in the entire nation devoted to industrial culture and materialism at the cost of nature’s well-being. For example railroad expansion by the tunneling of mountains and the bridging of streams causing violation to these primal forms of nature. He was not against technology, but feared that it would prove to be oppressive to humans. He encouraged “the intellectual and imaginative capacity of mankind to establish an appropriate place for technology” (Lumpkin 47). Emerson’s Nature and Religion According to the philosopher, nature was divine and enabled mankind to rise above the material to attain the spiritual. This transcending beyond material existence towards realising the divine formed the core belief of his works (Lumpkin 45). At the same time, Emerson praised technological development and the consequent progress that mankind could experience, especially in his early years as an author. His later writings reflected his conflicting perceptions regarding the domination of nature and human progress in the nineteenth century as a result of industrialization and the promotion of commerce. He underscored the responsibility of individuals and institutions towards restricting technology within beneficial limits, and stressed the importance of the natural environment (Lumpkin 45). In Emerson’s (p.55) essay on Idealism, the philosopher states that religion teaches that all things that are visible are temporal, whereas the things that are unseen are etermal. This means that religion places nature at a lower level, which makes the devotee flout nature. However, man’s connection with nature is basic, real and visionary. Idealism sees God in the vast picture formed of the world. Emerson’s Universe Consisting of Nature and the Soul In the first lines of Nature (1936), Emerson’s first philosophical work, he questioned why we should not form an original relation to the Universe, instead of following our ancestors’ perspectives on God and Nature as face-to-face with each other (Sklansky 42). Mitchell (p.98) reiterates that the philosopher regretted his own generation being content with second-hand knowledge. He was convinced about the significance of personal religious experience, and each individual’s direct realization of the divine spirit. Emerson believed that from a philosophical stand-point, “the universe is composed of nature and the soul” (Richardson 227), which is equated with nature and consciousness or the world and the mind. By “nature” he meant the complete material world, including everything except the soul. The relationship between soul and nature, “me” and “not me”, self and world were his primary concerns. He considered both realms originally as one, and conceived the division between the two concepts as a problem in one’s approach, and as an alienation between the soul and nature. According to Emerson, the correct relationship between the soul and nature was not based on mastery, but the two reflected one another, “the material realm of nature mirrored the spiritual realm of the soul” (Sklansky 42). Conclusion This paper has examined Ralph Waldo Emerson as a Transcendentalist thinker with reference to his work Nature. Emerson’s views on the language of nature, the use of nature in technology and progress, the relationship between nature and religion, and the importance of nature and the soul as the two significant components of the universe, have been investigated. While Emerson supported progress, expansion and growth, contrastingly, he was opposed to the scientific way of thinking, and believed in idealism and transcendence over the material in seeking the divine through nature. Works Cited Buell, Lawrence. Emerson. The United States of America: Harvard University Press, 2004. Cadava, Eduardo. Emerson and the climates of history. The United States of America: Stanford University Press, 1997. Emerson, Ralph W. Nature: addresses and lectures. The United States of America: The New York Public Library Digitized, 2006. Lumpkin, G.T. The promise of technology versus the pastoral ideal: Ralph Waldow Emerson’s conflict over the role of mankind in nature. International Journal of Humanities and Peace, 22 (2006): pp. 45-50. Mitchell, Charles E. Individualism and its discontents: appropriations of Emerson, 1880- 1990. Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 1997. Richardson, Robert D. Emerson: the mind on fire. San Francisco: University of California Press, 1996. Sklansky, Jeffrey P. The soul’s economy: market society and selfhood in American thought. The United States of America: UNC Press, 2002. Read More