Help me understand transcendetalism.

PhoenixStar
Sun, 15 Jun 2008 02:17:13 +0000

From a rough draft of one of my English essays:

“Transcendentalism was a movement, associated with romanticism, which became popular in the early 1800s. The primary belief on which it was based was that there is an ultimate truth that transcends all, which everyone can find in their own way. This idealism and sense of higher purpose is highly reminiscent of the Greeks, and evokes a strong undercurrent of individualism, giving everyone the freedom to march to the beat of their own drummer. Ralph Waldo Emerson established the transcendental movement, and explains its basic ideas very well is his essay, “The Over-Soul.””

Essentially, it is the belief that we must each throughouly understand our own personal truth, if we are ever going to grasp the over-arching truth of the universe. In some ways, really, it is a cross between existentialism and greek philosophies (granted, that’s an odd description, as they’re polar opposites), in that it emphasizes everyone making meaning of the world in their own way, but still suggests that there is a high truth that transcends all. This also has a lot of similarities to some Buddihst beleifs on the power of usuing personal understanding to comprehend the world around you.

Did that make sense? Or was it just more confusing?