What are the major features of transcendentalism?
Transcendentalism Characteristics
- Essay. Transcendentalism is a literary movement that has essay-writing at its heart.
- Poetry. A lot of the Transcendentalist writers wrote poetry as well as essays.
- Intuition.
- Correspondence.
- Individualism.
- Nature.
- Unitarian Church.
- Social Reform.
What state of mind did the Transcendentalists create?
They criticized government, organized religion, laws, social institutions, and creeping industrialization. They created an American “state of mind” in which imagination was better than reason, creativity was better than theory, and action was better than contemplation.
How do transcendentalists define truth?
Transcendentalists define truth as an ultimate reality that goes beyond, or transcends, what people can know by means of the five senses. In the transcendentalist view, people gain knowledge of the ultimate reality through intuition rather than through mental training or education.
Do transcendentalists have optimistic?
Transcendentalists were idealistic and optimistic because they believed they could find answers to whatever they were seeking. All they had to do was learn to read, through their intuition, the external symbols of nature and translate them into spiritual facts.
How did the Transcendentalists view society?
Transcendentalists believe that society and its institutions—particularly organized religion and political parties—corrupt the purity of the individual. They have faith that people are at their best when truly “self-reliant” and independent. It is only from such real individuals that true community can form.
Do Transcendentalists view man as good evil or in between?
Transcendentalist believe that man is inherently somewhere between good and exil.
How did an American transcendentalist view individuality?
Transcendentalists valued individualism and self-reliance The Transcendentalists believed there is a divine spirit in nature and in every living soul. Through individualism and self-reliance human beings could reunite with God.
Is Thoreau an optimist or a pessimist?
Thoreau is somewhat optimistic about the people’s ability to improve the world, because he is attempting to encourage them to rebel against injustice, and he writes his essay to persuade those who feel a moral duty to rebel against injustice.
Do you consider Thoreau’s arguments the arguments of a patriot or a traitor?
Thoreau’s arguments are definitely those of a patriot. He argues for justice and self-government based on the beliefs on which the country was founded. He was making a statement for small government.
Why does Thoreau think that the rich are least likely to practice civil disobedience?
Thoreau seems to be in opposition to the wealthy and consumption. He states that the rich are less likely to practice civil disobedience because they have a lot more to lose should they “rebel” against the government.