Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Ralph Waldo Emerson by Josiah Johnson Hawes 1857

Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882) was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, and poet who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and he disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States.

Early Life

Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to a Unitarian minister and a devoutly religious mother. After attending the Boston Latin School, Emerson went on to Harvard College, graduating in 1821. He then attended Harvard Divinity School, and by 1829, he was ordained as a minister of the Second Church in Boston. However, his wife's death from tuberculosis in 1831 caused a crisis of faith, leading him to resign from his pastoral position.

Philosophy and Works

Emerson's philosophy is deeply rooted in the Transcendentalism movement, which posited the inherent goodness of both people and nature. He believed that society and its institutions corrupt the purity of the individual and that people are best when they are self-reliant and independent. Emerson's most famous essays include "Self-Reliance," "Nature," "The American Scholar," and "The Over-Soul."

In "Nature" (1836), Emerson laid out the foundation of Transcendentalism and suggested that the divine, or God, suffuses nature, and that reality can be understood by studying nature. His address to the Phi Beta Kappa society at Harvard, "The American Scholar," was a call for intellectual independence and creative thinking.

Impact and Legacy

Emerson's work not only influenced his contemporaries, such as Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman, but also left a mark on future generations. His ideas contributed to the development of American pragmatism and influenced the likes of Nietzsche and William James. Emerson's emphasis on individual integrity and personal spirituality has made him a central figure in American cultural history.

Death

Emerson died of pneumonia in 1882 in Concord, Massachusetts. He had begun to suffer from memory problems in his later years, possibly due to Alzheimer's disease. Emerson's death marked the end of an era in American intellectual history, but his teachings continue to inspire.

Selected Works

• Nature (1836)
• Essays: First Series (1841)
• Essays: Second Series (1844)
• Representative Men (1850)
• English Traits (1856)
• The Conduct of Life (1860)

See Also

• Transcendentalism
• Henry David Thoreau
• Margaret Fuller
• American philosophy