Ralph Waldo Emerson: Transcendentalism
Subject:
Emerson first sought an answer to the question of a man's place in a "science" of nature. His essay, Nature, was published in 1836, and is the main text by Emerson about transcedentalism. It is divided into 8 parts:
1. Nature
A. It is an experience of solitude.
B. We have to use the pleasure of nature with some moderation.
2. Commodity
A. Nature is perfectly fitted for human beings.
B. Nature is something which is alive and surrounds men and which is at their service; however, idndustry is not contradiction with nature: for him, both are complementary.
3. Beauty: He didvides it into 3 elements
A. Beauty, as a pleasure in perceiving natural forms, as a relief for men.
B. Beauty as "the mark God sets upon virtue."
C. Beauty as an object of the intellect.
