Fuller writes in “The Great Radical Dualism” that “Every relation, every gradation of nature, is incalculably precious, but only to the soul which is poised upon itself, and to whom no loss, no change, can bring dull discord, for it is in harmony with the central soul” (Norton 758). Here Fuller clearly draws inspiration from Emerson’s transcendentalism by acknowledging the ‘central soul’ that is analogous to Emerson’s idea of the Over-Soul (Hurst 4). However, Fuller’s goes beyond Emerson incorporating ‘every relation’ as being not only valuable, but as linked to the soul that facilitates its connection to the impersonal divine. Yet, in Emerson’s philosophy the individual ultimately identifies with the “universal substance of the divine” so
know it by experience, and be able to give a true account of it in my
Thoreau is aware of this juxtaposition when he expresses, “ ‘You are never so far in them as they far before you. Their secrets is where you are not and where your feet can never carry you’ ” (HIGGIN 39). By this Thoreau was aware of the limits in which humans could connect to nature and in particular trees, he knew that trees knew far more than what humans could know, and he was fine by it. Similarly, Fuller observes this chasm. Humans are connected to nature, but by trying to understand it, it would be impossible, beyond comprehension. She captures this sublime experience when she writes, “There all power of observing details, all separate consciousness, was quite lost” (Fuller 4). The more one tries to understand nature the more one understands of oneself. Hence, the connection is something more, through the soul, through the mind, and spirit. The connection is like trying to describe what it feels to sleep or even dream to an extraterrestrial who has never experienced either -- both just happen -- both teach the individual of who they
The text "Dueling Dualism" by Anne Fausto-Sterling claim is that sex and gender are constructed. Scientist construct gender and sex through their research and studies and this creates the way society views sex and gender. Sterling writes, "... human sexuality created by scholars in general and by biologists, in particular, are one component of political, social, and moral struggles about our cultures... At the same time... incorporated into our very physiological being... Biologists...in turn refashion our cultural environment"(Sterling,5). Sterling, sure enough, realizes how sexuality is viewed by biologist but also how it can change the perspectives of sexuality in a society. Biologist have "refashion our cultural environment" and are reshaping
In conclusion, Emerson’s Circles en omposes the meaning of many of his other works to masterfully craft an essay rich in etymology and spirituality, emphasizing the role of God and a Poet’s mind.
"In the woods, we return to reason and faith. There I feel that nothing can befall me in life, - no disgrace, no calamity (leaving me my eyes), which nature cannot repair. Standing on the bare ground, - my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space, - all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball. I am nothing. I see all. The currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God."
The most important influence, as Emerson writes, on the mind is nature. He makes the connection that everything is interconnected, a belief of Transcendentalism, describing it as a “web of God.” (P. 304) The human mind is somet...
A citizen of Concord, a denizen of philosophy, a certain Mr. Emerson has recently informed me of his observations of a peculiar phenomenon he dubs the Over-Soul. I wish to, rather than bicker over the particular, interpret the general meaning and nature of this universal specimen.
It is through this revelation that God is reaching out to man to provide an absolute truth, a connection between the soul and the spiritual world. This connection, he maintains, is “reason” and in “Spirit” he points out, “that spirit, that is, the Supreme Being, does not build up nature around us, but puts it forth through us…and we learn that man has access to the entire mind of the Creator and is himself the creator of the finite” (1016). Emerson seems to be offering that nature is not an existence in and of itself, but rather an offering of spiritual proportion that connects us to God’s truest intensions. In other words, through “reason”, one can infer that the material world exists as a direct link through which man can meet their Creator. Emerson further maintains “reason” as a true spiritual connection in his chapter titled “Prospects” when he notes that God will be recognized when “a faithful thinker, resolute to detach every object from personal relations, and see it in the light of thought, shall, at the same time, kindle science with the fire of the holiest affections” (1020). It can only be assumed that the faithful thinker that Emerson is referring to is the person who has gained an understanding of nature’s purpose and has, through reason, found their place within
Emerson believes that a person must not care about laws in order to be a hero. However, there are multiple instances where a hero is a hero because they are fighting against certain laws that they view as unjust. Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi, and Abraham Lincoln show that today’s heroes are fighting against the laws and therefore, contrary to Emerson’s belief, are heros because the laws motivated their actions.
...ious mind. But, twice Emerson notes that nature is a presence that shines through us, not around us, but through our bodies. So, to me, it is very evident that nature is indeed a part of our soul. But I guess our souls are outside of our bodies. Maybe nature flows through our souls not our actual bodies. Sometimes I forget my body and my soul are separate, but maybe they aren’t and that is what Emerson is trying to say-Everything is connected, we are all one.
Apart from the stronger focus on the common life, the importance rendered to the individual was another political phenomenon characteristic of the time, which is in line with and also adds to Emerson’s idea of an American scholar, who has to be someone who “take(s) up into himself all the ability of the time, all the contribution of the past, all the hopes of the future” and becomes “a university of knowledges”. Emerson therefore claim that the American scholars should refuse the “courtly muses of Europe” and “walk on [their] own feet; … work with [their] own hands; … speak out [their] own minds”.
In many works of literature, there can be some sort of character that either an individual or a society looks up to in regards to being a “supreme force”. This dynamism can help individuals overcome a sense of who they are and what their purpose is in life. According to Descartes, God’s essence, although not physically in character, is engraved within each and every one of us; that is, we all obtain some sort of spirit of God within our physical well being. The relationship held between God and oneself as an existent is that, physically, we are here on this planet and we obtain to essence of God’s spirit in different ways. That being said, even though God is not physically with us, his spirit is engraved within us, and therefore we all carry the essence of God and portray a sense of his disposition. The divine essence is important because although we do not see it, we need it, and others need it as well. Therefore, while we carry the essence of the divine, we can help others and interact with others on the basis of God’s essence that is spiritually with us. Nevertheless, we embody some aspect of God’s soul. Subsequently, it is important to remember and appreciate that aspect because our actions, our words and our well beings portray a principle of God, and we do not want to alter that essence negatively.
In Emerson’s “The Over-Soul”, he talks of his belief in a God who is inside each of us and whom we can communicate with. Emerson means God to be a third party to the human race. He takes God and makes a religious being more secular by tying it to the existence of the over-soul. He expects us to recognize this presence through the manifestation of the over-soul in society. It ties us together into one, and through this united front we “all become wiser than [we] were”. Emerson doesn’t seem to recognize though that without the assumption that all of society recognizes the over-soul subconsciously, society would not accept “this deep power in which we exist”.
If we wanted to examine what Emerson thought the good life was, we could take a look at his essay “The Over-Soul”. In this essay we get a sense of what...
...have struggled with the nature of human beings, especially with the concept of “self”. What Plato called “soul, Descartes named the “mind”, while Hume used the term “self”. This self, often visible during hardships, is what one can be certain of, whose existence is undoubtable. Descartes’s “I think, therefore I am” concept of transcendental self with just the conscious mind is too simplistic to capture the whole of one’s self. Similarly, the empirical self’s idea of brain in charge of one’s self also shows a narrow perspective. Hume’s bundle theory seeks to provide the distinction by claiming that a self is merely a habitual way of discussing certain perceptions. Although the idea of self is well established, philosophical insight still sees that there is no clear presentation of essential self and thus fails to prove that the true, essential self really exists.