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Emerson and the Virtues
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 January 2010
Extract
Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose life spanned most of the nineteenth century, is widely regarded as one of the greatest sages in the history of American thought. Among educated American citizenry, Emerson is probably the most commonly read indigenous philosopher—and for good reason. Emerson presents a vision of human beings and their place in the universe which gives meaning and stature to the human condition. His profound, even religious, optimism, gives structure and import to even the smallest and apparently least significant of human activities. The inspirational quality of Emerson's, prose, his willingness to travel far and wide to lecture, his ability to help people transcend the difficulties of the times, all led to his very great national as well as international significance.
- Type
- Papers
- Information
- Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements , Volume 19: American Philosophy , March 1985 , pp. 135 - 152
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Royal Institute of Philosophy and the contributors 1985
References
1 The Complete Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emerson, Edward Waldo (ed.), 12 vols (Boston and New York, 1903–1904), vol. II, 297Google Scholar. (Hereafter all reference to Emerson's Complete Works will be in abbreviated form, thus: II, 297.)
2 II, 101.
3 Emerson claims to have acquired the term ‘transcendental’ from Kant (I, 339–340). But as Morton White, among others, points out, Emerson's transcendental intuition ultimately reduces to feeling, and has little to do with Kant's conception of transcendental understanding (Science and Sentiment in America (Oxford, 1972), 98–99).Google Scholar
4 II, 139.
5 I, 10.
6 II, 49.
7 II, 46.
8 II, 50.
9 II, 57.
10 II, 55–58. See II, 67.
11 II, 55.
12 II, 50.
13 Being and Nothingness, trans. Hazel E. Barnes (New York, 1956).Google Scholar
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18 II, 141.
19 Pragmatism (Cambridge, 1975), Lecture VI, 110.Google Scholar
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21 New York, 1959.
22 II, 297.
23 II, 52.
24 II, 51–52.
25 See II, 143.
26 ‘Address at the Emerson Centenary in Concord’, in Emerson: a Collection of Critical Essays, Konvitz, Milton R. and Whicher, Stephen E. (eds) (Westport, Connecticut, 1978), 22.Google Scholar
27 VI, 54, 249–253; II, 213.
28 Quoted by Aaron, Daniel, ‘Emerson and the Progressive Tradition’Google Scholar, in Konvitz, and Whicher, , op. cit., 89Google Scholar. This is an excellent article which shows nicely the aristocratic elements of Emerson's thought.
29 II, 77.
30 Ibid.
31 II, 199.
32 II, ibid.
33 II, 210.
34 See Hoeltje, Hubert H., Sheltering Tree: A Story of the Friendship of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Amos Bronson Alcott (Durham, NC, 1943)Google Scholar; Paul, Sherman, Emerson's Angle of Vision (Cambridge, 1952), Ch. 6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
35 See Boller, Paul F. Jr, American Transcendentalism, 1830–1860 (New York, 1974), 94.Google Scholar
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37 II, 307. See Nietzsche, , Thus Spoke ZarathustraGoogle Scholar, Part I. Sec. 14; Menschliches, Allzumenschliches, Sec. 376.
38 II, 211.
39 II, 209.
40 Ibid.
41 See, for example, II, 216–217.
42 II, 179.
43 II, 188.
44 See Nietzsche, Friedrich, Beyond Good and Evil, Genealogy of MoralsGoogle Scholar; Dewey, John, Reconstruction in PhilosophyGoogle Scholar, Ch. 7. Whether Dewey and Nietzsche were directly influenced by Emerson on this point is uncertain. It is clear that both philosophers read Emerson and greatly admired him.
45 II, 144.
46 II, 101.
47 II, 156. See II, 159; VI, 215–216.
48 II, 160.
49 II, 145.
50 To see this point in the context of friendship, see II, 215–216.
51 Wittgenstein, Ludwig, Philosophical Investigations, trans, by Anscombe, G. E. M. (New York, 1953), Part I, Sec. 50.Google Scholar
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53 ‘Song of Myself’, Leaves of Grass (New York, 1950), 23.Google Scholar
54 This is not to deny that Emerson is also a poet, and that his writing is, and is designed to be emotionally stimulating. It is only to say that his primary aim is cognitive: to state and communicate truths.
55 I would like to thank Joseph W. Suckiel for the stimulating discussions we have had about Emerson, and for his insightful comments on this paper; and also Marcus G. Singer for his numerous helpful suggestions.