美国超验主义

introduction

American

Transcendentalism

or“New

England

Transcendentalism”

or

“Am

erican

Renaissance”

(1836

---1855)

was

the

first

American

intellectual

movem

ent,

which

exerted

a

tremendous

impact

on

the

consciousness

of

American

people.

As

Lawrence

Buell

states,

“To

proclaim

transcendentalism’s

impact,

however,

is

easier

than

to

define

it,

for

the

movement

was

loosely

organize

d

and

its

boundaries

were

indistinct”.

New

England

Transcendentalism

was,

in

essence,

romantic

idealism

on

Puritan

soil.

It

was

a

system

of

thought

that

originated

from

three

sources.

First

William

Ellery

Channing

(1780---1842)

was

an

American

Unitarian

clerg

yman.

His

Unitarianism

represented

a

thoughtful

revolt

against

orthodox

Purit

anism.

Unitarianism

believed

God

as

one

being,

rejecting

the

doctrine

of

trin

ity,

stressing

the

tolerance

of

difference

in

religious

opinion,

and

giving

each

congregation

the

free

control

of

its

own

affairs

and

its

independent

authorit

y.

It

laid

the

foundation

for

the

central

doctrines

of

transcendentalism.

Seco

ndly,

the

idealistic

philosophy

from

France

and

Germany

exerted

enormous

i

mpact

on

American

intellectuals.

Thirdly,

oriental

mysticism

as

revealed

in

Hi

ndu

and

Chinese

classics

reached

America

in

English

translations.

As

a

res

ult,

New

England

Transcendentalism

blended

native

American

tradition

with

f

oreign

influences.

Dissatisfied

with

the

materialistic-oriented

society

and

eager

to

save

the

soul

with

a

doctrine

of

the

mind,

some

American

intellectuals

were

so

athir

st

for

new

ideas

that

they

formed

an

informal

discussing

group,

the

Transce

ndental

Club,

with

some

thirty

men

and

women

of

Boston

and

Concord

in

1

836.

They

were

strongly

influenced

by

the

new

German

idealism

and

delight

ed

in

abstract

discussion.

They

met

irregularly

over

the

next

four

years

at

Ralph

Waldo

Emerson's

home

in

Concord

for

the

purpose

of

discussing

the

new

ideas

of

life

and

society.

This

club

was

the

first

and

most

famous

of

a

series

of

forums

that

served

during

the

next

few

decades

as

social

gatheri

ng

points.

It

became

the

movement's

magnetic

center.

From

1836

to

1835,

t

hey

advocated

their

views

and

principles

in

various

magazines.

Besides,

the

y

even

published

their

journal.

The

Dial

(1840-1844).

Their

meetings

and

their

journal

promoted

this

movement

and

added

pro

minence

to

it.

Many

people

interested

in

the

new

ideas

of

transcendentalism

were

impressed

by

the

brotherhood

of

humanity.

In

order

to

separate

them

selves

from

the

evil

society,

they

made

two

communitarian

experiments

by

e

stablishing

ideal

communities.

George

Ripley

(1802-1880)

set

up

the

Brook

Farm

on

Boston's

outskirts,

which

ran

from

1841

to

1847

with

emphasis

on

cooperation

without

competition.

On

this

farm,

people

shared

in

domestic

an

d

physical

labor,

and

secured

material

and

cultural

welfare.

It

stressed

educ

ational

reform

and

its

most

distinguished

institution

was

its

school.

The

grea

t

novelist

Nathaniel

Hawthorne

(1806-1864)

was

once

its

member.

It

is

a

pit

y

that

a

disastrous

fire

in

the

uninsured

main

building

put

and

end

to

this

e

xperiment.

The

second

experiment

is

Fruitlands,

near

Harvard,

set

up

by

Br

onson

Alcott

(1799-1888)

in

1843.

On

this

farm,

Alcott

stressed

the

absolute

avoidance

of

exploitation

of

man

and

beast.

It

lasted

less

than

a

year

bec

ause

it

was

more

extreme

in

practice

than

the

Brook

Farm.

Alcott

also

help

ed

to

organize

and

preside

over

the

concord

School

of

Philosophy

(1879-18

88),

a

summer

seminar.

This

was

the

last

significant

activity

of

transcendent

alism.

However,

in

the

1830s

and

1840s,transcendentalism

was

treated

in

ne

wspapers

and

magazines

as

something

between

a

national

laughing

stock

a

nd

a

clear

menace

to

organized

religion

2.

Major

Concepts

The

term

“transcendentalism”

is

derived

from

the

Latin

v

erb

transcender

e

meaning,

to

rise

above,

or

to

pass

beyond

the

limits.

Transcendentalism

h

as

been

defined

as

the

recognition

in

man

of

the

capacity

of

acquiring

kno

wledge

transcending

the

reach

of

the

five

senses,

or

of

knowing

truth

intuiti

vely,

or

of

reaching

the

divine

without

the

need

of

an

intercessor.

As

the

le

ader

of

this

movement,

Ralph

Waldo

Emerson

interpreted

transcendentalism

as

“whatever

belongs

to

the

class

of

intuitive

thought,”

and

as

“idealism

as

it

appears

in

1842.”

He

believed

that

the

transcendental

law

was

the

“moral

law”

through

which

man

discovered

the

nature

of

God

as

a

living

spirit.

Th

e

major

concepts

that

accompanied

transcendentalism

can

be

summarized

in

the

following

six

points.

(1)

It

stressed

the

power

of

intuition,

believing

that

people

could

learn

t

hings

both

from

the

outside

world

by

means

of

the

five

senses

and

from

th

e

inner

world

by

intuition.

But

the

things

they

learned

from

within

were

truer

than

the

things

they

learned

from

without,

and

transcended

them.

It

held

th

at

everyone

had

access

to

a

source

of

knowledge

that

transcended

the

ever

yday

experiences

of

sensation

and

reflection.

Intuition

was

inner

light

within.

(2)

As

romantic

idealism,

it

placed

spirit

first

and

matter

second.

It

belie

ved

that

both

spirit

and

matter

were

real

but

that

the

reality

of

spirit

was

gr

eater

than

that

of

matter.

Spirit

transcended

matter,

and

the

permanent

reali

ty

was

the

spiritual

one.

It

stressed

essence

behind

appearance.

(3)

It

took

nature

as

symbolic

of

spirit

of

God.

All

things

in

nature

were

symbols

of

the

spiritual,

of

God’s

presence.

Nature

was

alive,

filled

with

G

od’s

overwhelming

presence.

Everything

in

the

universe

was

viewed

as

an

e

xpression

of

the

divine

spirit.

Behind

physical

objects

was

a

universal

soul.

Nature

was

God’s

enlightenment

towards

human

beings.

Therefore,

it

could

exercise

a

healthy

and

restorative

influence

on

human

mind.

Nature

was

en

nobling

and

people

were

somehow

better

for

being

out

in

the

woods

or

mea

dows.

So

people

should

come

close

to

nature

for

instructions.

Nature

not

o

nly

showed

humanity

its

own

materiality

but

taught

human

morality.

Nature’s

beauty

was

the

beauty

of

human

mind.

The

two

were

joined

together.

With

this

organic

view

in

mind,

it

stressed

unity

of

humanity

and

nature.

(4)

It

emphasized

the

significance

of

the

individual

and

believed

that

the

individual

was

the

most

important

element

in

society

and

that

the

ideal

kin

d

of

individual

was

self-reliant

and

unselfish.

It

held

that

there

was

a

greatn

ess

in

all

human

beings

that

needed

only

to

be

set

free.

People

should

dep

end

on

themselves

for

spiritual

perfection.

As

the

individual

soul

could

com

mune

with

God,

it

was,

therefore,

divine.

With

the

assumption

of

the

innate

goodness

of

humanity,

it

held

that

the

individual

soul

could

reach

God

witho

ut

the

help

of

churches

or

clergy.

While

stressing

individuality,

it

rejected

th

e

restraints

of

tradition

and

custom.

The

transcendentalist

had

an

uncompro

mising

concern

for

individual’s

moral

development

rather

than

for

social

prog

ress.

The

dignity

of

the

individual

remains

a

vital

part

of

American

creed

ev

en

today.

(5)

Emerson

envisioned

religion

as

an

emotional

communication

between

an

indivi

dual

soul

and

the

universal

“Oversoul”.

The

“Oversoul”

as

called

b

y

Emerson

was

an

all-pervading

unitary

spiritual

power

of

goodness,

omnipr

esent

and

omnipotent,

from

which

all

things

came

and

of

which

everyone

w

as

a

part.

It

existed

in

nature

and

in

humanity

alike

and

constituted

the

chi

ef

element

of

the

universe.

Generally,

the

Oversoul

referred

to

spirit

of

God

as

the

most

important

thing

in

the

universe.

Since

the

Oversoul

was

a

sin

gle

essence,

and

since

all

people

derived

their

beings

from

the

same

sourc

e,

the

seeming

diversity

and

clash

of

human

interests

was

only

superficial,

and

all

people

were

in

reality

striving

toward

the

same

ends

by

different

but

converging

paths.

Thus

was

affirmed

the

universal

brotherhood

of

humanity,

and

the

ultimate

resolution

of

all

social

problems.

The

harder

each

person

strove

to

express

his

or

her

individuality,

the

more

faithfully

he

or

she

follo

wed

the

inner

voice,

the

more

surely

would

the

aims

of

his

or

her

life

coinc

ide

with

those

of

his

or

her

neighbor.

(6)

It

held

that

commerce

was

degrading

and

that

a

life

spent

in

busine

ss

was

a

wasted

life.

Humanity

could

be

much

better

off

if

people

paid

less

attention

to

the

material

world

in

which

they

lived.

3.

Significance

Therefore,

transcendentalism

can

be

best

understood

as

a

somewhat

lat

e

and

localized

manifestation

of

romantic

movement

in

literature

and

philoso

phy.

The

triumph

of

intuition

over

five

senses,

the

exaltation

of

the

individua

l

over

society,

the

critical

attitude

toward

formalized

religion,

the

rejection

of

any

kind

of

restraint

or

bondage

to

custom,

the

new

and

thrilling

delight

in

nature

---

all

these

were

in

some

measure

characteristic

of

transcendentalis

m.

These

ideas

also

inspired

English

poets

Wordsworth

and

Coleridge

as

w

ell

as

many

German

idealist

philosophers.

As

formulated

by

Emerson,

transc

endentalism

became

a

clarion

call

to

action,

exhorting

young

people

to

cast

off

their

deadening

enslavement

to

the

past,

to

follow

God

within,

and

to

li

ve

every

moment

of

life

with

strenuousness,

to

regard

nature

as

the

great

o

bjective

lesson

proving

God’s

presence

everywhere

in

His

creation.

Transcendentalism

was

also

an

ethical

guide

to

life

for

a

young

nation

of

America.

It

preached

the

positive

life

and

appealed

to

the

best

side

of

h

uman

nature.

Therefore,

it

stressed

the

tolerance

of

difference

in

religious

o

pinion

and

the

free

control

of

his

own

affairs

by

each

congregation,

and

call

ed

to

throw

off

shackles

of

custom

and

tradition,

and

to

go

forward

to

the

development

of

a

new

and

distinctly

American

culture.

It

insisted

on

the

ess

ential

worth

and

dignity

of

the

individual

as

a

powerful

force

for

democracy.

It

also

advocated,

and

practiced,

an

idealism

that

was

greatly

needed

in

a

rapidly

expanded

economy

where

opportunity

too

often

became

mere

opport

unism,

and

the

desire

to

“get

on”

obscured

the

moral

necessity

for

rising

to

spiritual

height.

New

England

Transcendentalism

is

important

to

American

literature

at

le

ast

for

two

reasons.

On

the

one

hand,

it

is

represented

by

two

major

writer

s

of

the

country----Emerson

and

Thoreau.

They

became

movers

and

shakers

whose

writings

have

had

more

and

more

impact

with

the

passage

of

time.

So

far

as

these

two

writers

are

concerned,

they

were

more

enduringly

impor

tant

for

their

ideology

than

for

their

actual

literary

achievement.

On

the

othe

r

hand,

a

new

group

of

writers

under

the

influence

of

Emerson

and

Thoreau

began

to

apply

transcendental

ideas

in

their

works.

Almost

all

the

writers

o

f

the

period

were

more

or

less

influenced

by

transcendentalist

doctrines.

Ha

wthorne,

Melville,

Lowell,

Dickinson,

and

Whitman

were

all

exponents

of

tran

scendentalism

in

one

way

or

another.

They

created

one

of

the

most

prolific

periods

in

the

history

of

American

literature.

4.

Weaknesses

The

transcendentalist

movement

had

a

small

membership

and

only

laste

d

for

a

few

years,

but

it

has

exerted

great

impact

in

the

country.

As

time

p

asses,

the

term

“Transcendentalism”

has

lost

its

derogatory

sense

and

beco

me

the

condensation

of

American

romantic

movement

in

literature

of

the

per

iod.

It

lasting

importance

is

great.

Transcendentalism,

however,

was

never

a

systematic

philosophy.

It

borrowed

from

many

sources

and

reconciled

few

o

f

them.

Whenever

the

demand

of

logic

became

too

insistent,

it

turned

to

my

sticism.

It

became

a

rationale

for

the

pressure

toward

expansionism

that

wa

s

already

turning

people’s

minds

to

the

conquest

o

f

the

West.

It

resulted

far

more

often

in

rampant

individualism

than

in

a

democracy

of

mutual

helpfuln

ess

and

equal

opportunity.

The

denial

of

the

reality

of

evil

tended

to

make

moral

indignation

an

irrelevant

emotion.

The

failure

of

transcendentalism

as

a

moral

force

in

American

life

was

its

denial

of

its

real

spiritual

origin.

Peo

ple

used

it

to

justify

their

acquisitiveness

and

left

it

up

to

the

principle

of

c

ompensation

to

balance

the

rest

of

the

account.

These

are

its

weaknesses.

Self-Reliance (1841)

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was democracy's poet and the central

figure in the Transcendental movement that invigorated American

intellectual life in the mid-nineteenth century. Transcendentalism

defined

capacity

to

grasp

beauty

and

truth

by

allowing

full

play

to

the

intellect

and emotions. The movement emerged from a small group of intellectuals

centered in Concord, Massachusetts, and Emerson proved not only its

intellectual leader but its most eloquent voice as well.

Trained

as

a

Unitarian

minister,

Emerson

left

the

church

in

1832

to

devote

himself

to

writing

and

teaching

and

fostering

a

unique

American

philosophy.

In

American

Scholar

(1837),

he

called

upon

his

countrymen

to

achieve