Humans Place within the natural world - Essay Example

of Lecturer] Humans Place within the Natural World Introduction Opinions are quite divergent on the use to which people should put their lives in society, more so in the natural aspect of the universe. Writers and artists of great renown have delved deeper into the understanding the nature, role, and the place of human beings in the natural environment. Among such scholars in the history of the United States are Ralph Waldo Emerson, born on May 25, 1803 and died on April 27, 1882 and Henry David Thoreau who asserted that most people had lives without principles. In addition, artists such as Arthur Durand, Thomas Cole, and poet William Cullen Bryant also contributed greatly to past and modern understanding of the place of human being in the natural world. Because of the differing views and the subsequent contributions of these renowned artists, the world today has a better grasp and understanding of the presence and the purpose of human being on earth. People currently have a better perceptive of their purpose in life and the manner in which they should interact not only with humans and non-human animals but also with the rests of the natural world. What is more, the ideas advocated by these people in their artistic works have enabled humankind to make more sense of the social, cultural, economical, and social forces and structures in the civilized world. This paper explores some of the famous American artists and writers who greatly influenced American history, artistic traditions, and perception of human place in the world in general. Great American Artists and Writers Although they contributed to the rich artistic history of the American people in different ways, Ralph Waldo, Henry David Thoreau, and Usher B. Durant contributed to the artistic history of America in almost similar manner. Waldo, an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, spearheaded the Transcendentalist movement in the USA the mid-19th century. In so doing, Waldo criticized the societal pressures that dogged peoples’ lives and emphasized individualism in his many published works. In fact, by championing Transcendentalism in many of his published works, Waldo slowly moved away from his contemporaries with whom he had professed rather radical religious and social beliefs. Among the core essences of life as perceived by Waldo included social, cultural, and religious ideas that he did not impose on people but gradually developed to endear people to these perceptions. These ideas, which formed the core of his teachings during lectures and in print included self-reliance, the relationship between the soul and the surrounding world, unexploited ability to achieve anything, freedom, and individuality. Waldo’s contributions to the understanding of human’s nature and place in the universe were thus more philosophical than naturalistic. In this regard, he believed that nature and the soul composed the universe. It is because of Waldo’s works that many later writers and thinkers were propelled to write while the rest of America started to think harder about life and its implications. For instance, from the philosophy of Waldo’s about “the infinitude of the private man," Americans came to believe in the immeasurable opportunities available to them and their immense abilities to achieve their life’s objectives (Waldo 8). Waldo’s earlier religious views also shaped later America’s religiosity as Waldo insisted that “all things are connected to God and are thus divine” (Waldo 10). However, Waldo would later be accused of attempting to remove the central figure and role of God by insinuating that human beings could experience the truth directly from nature without God interceding for them. In fact, it is this rather radical religious view that formed the basis of Transcendentalism. Waldo also believed in freedom, having experienced slavery firsthand during his youth, further regretting that at one time that he did not fully commit to the abolitionist cause. To the conflicts brought about by the slavery and antislavery forces, Waldo believed that only moral and peaceful agreements would bring about meaningful reforms. His legacy to America is, therefore, that of a culture of intellect with which he easily influenced and inspired future artists and influential Americans. Henry Thoreau David Henry David Thoreau, who lived between July 12, 1817 and May 6, 1862, was an all-round American who was not only an author and a poet but also a great thinker, abolitionist, and naturalist whose works continue to influence life in the United States even in present times. Examples of the outstanding stances that Thoreau took were his opposition to civil governance and support for civil disobedience. Further, Thoreau supported simple living in the natural surrounding using the natural resources. He also worked extensively on natural history, ecology, environmentalism, and philosophy. In these fields, he combined personal experience, symbolic meanings, and natural observation to collect information. Like Waldo, Thoreau was an abolitionist who constantly fought slave laws thus influencing future politicians, public figures, human rights activists, and thinkers such as Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Leo Tolstoy (Thoreau 7). Although his critics viewed him as an anarchist, Thoreau did not call for the immediate abolishment of government but for immediate better governance through civil disobedience. In essence, he called for a government that presides over a society that is prepared for it. The other philosophy that Thoreau propagated was that people used to live without principles with regards to how people spent their time. For example, Thoreau feels that people are only interested in business but not leisure and free time to interact with God. That is, life is more about making money than it is about caring for one another and the natural environment. He thus believed peoples’ “connection with an obligation to society was rather short-lived and slight” (Thoreau 12). The other American artist who depicted the relationship between man and nature was Asher Durand. In his drawing of American artist Thomas Cole and American poet William Cullen Bryant, Durand depicts the two artists surrounded by the Catskill Mountains of New York, portraying them as related or kindred spirits, thus commemorating the connective aspects of nature and man. The Durand depiction of the two artists thus pays tribute to the two artists and the nature, which they sought to preserve by their works. The profound effects of these artists’ works did not end in the 19th century; rather, even modern generations, artists and non-artists have benefitted from these artists’ messages. In fact, through paintings such as Durand’s, modern artists get inspired by observing the exotic beauties of landscapes and other natural objects. As Waldo asserts, “all natural objects make kindred impressions, when the mind is open to their influence” (Waldo, 13). As a citizen, one is only obliged to hold to the artistic messages and insinuations that serve to protect the natural environment for the immediate and future generations of human and non-human creatures. Below is Durand’s depiction of Thomas Cole and William Cullen Bryant (Durand 1): Conclusion Past and present artists and writers continue to largely influence life in modern times in the United States. Philosophically, past artists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Durand, and Thoreau, had great influence on how later artists and thinkers perceived life, more so the place of human in the natural world. Generally, these artists supported the connectivity of nature and human life and the need to exploit natural resources in a sustainable manner for the immediate and future generations. The fact that these artists revered the natural environment enables even the modern society to protect and care for the natural surroundings. Works Cited Durand, Arthur. Kindred Spirits. 2007. Web. July 13, 2012 http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/durandinfo.shtm Thoreau, Henry David. From-Life without Principle. Web. July 13, 2012 http://thoreau.eserver.org/life1.html Waldo, Ralph Emerson. Nature. Web. July 13, 2012 http://www.emersoncentral.com/nature1.htm Read More