(5)New England Transcendentalism.doc

New England Transcendentalism New England Transcendentalism came into being around 1830s to 1840s in Boston region. It is a powerful romantic revolution on human thoughts and its basic spirit is to challenge against traditional rationalism, especially Calvinism which is the basic doctrine of puritanism. Reasons for a religious revolution Q: Why they want to search for a revolution against Calvinism?l Unreasonableness of Puritanism The birthplace of Transcendentalism, New England, is the base of American Puritanism which preaches total depravity and the irresistible grace of God. Although this doctrine could help puritans find their sense of belonging and mission and had exerted a great influence on the exploitation and expansion of American colony, when it came into the era of Emerson, it became unreasonable and old-fashioned. l The cruel and tyrannic image of God For 19th-century-New Englanders, the image of God preached by Calvinism is so cruel, tyrannic that they are hardly to accept. According to the doctrine of Calvinism, the image of God is different from it described in the Bible, who is kind and sympathetic. In the meanwhile, the emphasis on the original sin, total depravity and incapability to seek for self-salvation by Calvinism made them humiliated and promote them to resort to a revolution.Foreign influences New England Transcendentalism was the product of a combination of foreign influences and the American Puritan tradition. l The view point of Jonathan Edwards The basis view point of Transcendentalism can be faintly found in the view point of Jonathan Edwards, who believes that men can communicate with God through their intuitive meditation. The Edwardian notion of inward communication of the soul with God and divine symbolism of nature all find adequate expression in Emersonian Transcendentalism. This view point undoubtedly gave a heavy blow toward the strict doctrine of Calvinism.l Idealistic philosophy from Germany and France Transcendentalism can be said to have begun with the introduction of idealistic philosophy from Germany and France. The idealistic concepts of Kant(康德), Schelling（谢林） and Fichte（斐布特） found their way to America.l Oriental mysticism and Chinese Confucius and Mencius (东方神秘主义和孔孟之道) We should make clear that the major transcendentalists are all acquainted with Oriental philosophy including Chinese Confucian classics to some degree. They can find from Oriental philosophies something to prove the basic views of Transcendentalism. Many quotation of Confucius and Mencius can be found in their journals and works.Transcendentalist Club For it had been influence by so many philosophies and ideas, it is not a complete philosophical system, but an aggregation of ideas and views. It came from a group of people with common interests and ideas. These New Englanders, form themselves into an informal club, the Transcendentalist Club, and met to discuss matters of philosophy, theology, literature and so on. They expressed their views, published their journal, the Dial 日晷， and made their voice heard. Most of the members are teachers or clergymen, radicals reacting Calvinism. Almost all the major transcendental philosophers and scholars had published their theories, poems and essays on The Dial. Emerson is the chief editor of this journal.The philosophy of Transcendentalism The major features of New England Transcendentalism can be summarized as followed: l The Transcendentalists placed emphasis on spirit, or the Oversoul, as the most important thing in the universe. (idealism)Q: Then, what is Oversoul? Oversoul was an all-pervading power for goodness. It is omnipresent and omnipotent. It existed in nature and man alike and constitute the chief element of the universe. It represents a new way of looking at the world. So it was apparently a reaction to the eighteenth-century Newtonian concept of the universe, which advocate that the world was made up of matter. Oversoul stressed the importance of spiritual welfare.l The Transcendentalists stressed the importance of the individual. (Confucian classics) To them, the individual is the most important element of society. As the regeneration of the society could only come about through the regeneration of the individual. His perfection, self-culture, and self-improvement should become the first concern of his life. The Transcendentalists like Emerson and Thoreau were telling people to depend upon themselves for spiritual perfection. In their opinion, the individual soul communed with the Oversoul and was therefore divine. So this new notion of the individual and his importance represented a new way of looking at man. It was a reaction against the Calvinist concept that man is totally depraved and sinful. It was also a reaction against the process of capitalism. The industrialization of New England was turning men into nonhumans. People were losing their individuality and were becoming uniform. l The Transcendentalists offered a fresh perception of nature as symbolic of the Spirit or God. (Edwardian philosophy) Nature was not purely matter. It was alive filled with Gods overwhelming presence. It was the garment of the Oversoul. Therefore, it could exercise a healthy and restorative influence on human mind. Thats the reason why many transcendentalists would like to return to nature such as Emerson and Thoreau. Thoreau lived in his solitude beside Walden lake for a long time. All the things in nature tend