"The Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson -an essay expressing Transcendentalist ideas

Self-Reliance

The first idea that comes to the mind when making a link between Self-Reliance and transcendentalism is the famous and the best known essay, Self-Reliance which was written by the philosopher and the essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson during the 19^th century. Emerson stimulated his readers to be individual and rely on their capacities rather than wasting time in churches, he encouraged people to stay at home and develop their culture and their individual knowledge to form an ideal and individual personality. Emerson in his essay Self-Reliance stated:
To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, that is genius. Speak your latent conviction, and it shall be the universal sense; for the inmost in due time becomes the outmost and our first thought is rendered back to us by the trumpets of the Last Judgment¹.
Emerson and others transcendentalists believed that people should be independent, follow their feelings and spiritual sense, and do not care about the judgment of the others, but if only your heart is not corrupted.
The essay Self-Reliance is the starting point in America that shaped a new way of thinking based on self-confidence, Emerson in his essay wanted to transmit many messages to the audience; his essay tackled many aspects in the society with a strong determination to treat many phenomena in the American society. Self-Reliance is the definite concept of Emerson’s notions of individualism; this essay assesses the concept of individuals rather than the one of society, in addition to self-cultivation, religions, nations, and other institutions and systems of thought .The first and foremost aim of Emerson’s Self-Reliance is encouraging people to act freely rather than automatically following popular opinion and corresponding to the will of the majority. Emerson preferred to retain the outspokenness of a child who speaks innocently, a child who has not yet corrupted by the adults who ordered him to do things, he focused on individualism rather than conformity.
Self-Reliance is an essay divided into three major parts by scholars which Emerson does not formally do so: the value of and barriers to Self-Reliance (paragraph 1-17), Self-Reliance and the individual (paragraph 18-32), and Self-Reliance and society (paragraph 33-50). In the first part Emerson opened his essay with a Latin quotation:
“Ne tequaesiveris extra” which means (do not look outside of yourself for the truth) by the Roman satirist and poet Aulus Persius Flaccus. Emerson here wants to focus on the meaning that man should listen to his inner voice, his own intuition, and impose himself to be heard. This sentence gathers a strong meaning about what is Self-Reliance in general, Emerson’s wish, was to turn people very strong without relying on the words of the others, books, or customs and traditions, his bold comment is that if people do not do what their mind says, someone else will enunciate what they feel or think; as a result they take their opinions from the others with shame¹.
In the second part, Self-Reliance and the individual, Spontaneity or instinct is an essential part in Emerson’s meaning of individualism, the sentence “Trust thyself” is the spoon of Self -Reliance; Emerson used it to clarify that man should trust on the power that inherit capability, in the other hand, to trust on the nature, he argued that to live correctly with God and nature, man should not care about what happened in the past or what will happen in the future, to make comparison between oneself to another, or rely on the words or thought of someone else.
The third part is about Self-Reliance and society, in those concluding paragraphs; Emerson indicated that Self-Reliance is a must to be applied in all sides of life: education, religion, pursuits, association, property, and in all judgments. In this final part, Emerson’s examination of society, proved that morality needs Self-Reliance and he advised the American to be original thinkers rather than followers. The concept of Self-Reliance may be somehow misunderstood. Self-Reliance is not a philosophy of individualism, nor a doctrine of liberalism, it is an essay that considered as a manner, a mean, and a cookbook that supports creativity and encourages people to be creators. Emerson also emphasized on being non-conformist in setting choices; because man should takes his decisions with a pure mind without any influences, as he said: “Whoso be a man, must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness²”.
In other sense, even goodness cannot be taken in consideration, self-trust is the important element that should be present in man’s personality, he urged people to live in the current moment, which everything must be questioned and examined to know which advice and principles are worth accepting and which are the tools of the past.
“Genius” is another word that repeated Emerson’s Self-Reliance, here individual can examine his or her genius by selecting principles as he said: “The inquiry leads us to that source, at once the essence of genius, of virtue, and of life, which we call Spontaneity or Instinct” (Emerson 36).
Self-Reliance tackled with many aspects such as art, freedom, conformity / nonconformity, and individualism. And the most important aspects that Emerson considered as key of the rise of the nation are: politics, society, and culture.
a- Politics:
Emerson considered as a political thinker, for him, Self-Reliance is not selfishness or just cultivation of one’s self but it is an empathy with all selves, this means that
Emerson’s Self-Reliance is not just build for moral commitment to “reform” or “culture” of the self but also a political commitment to democracy where all other individuals can do the same. Emerson assented that “souls are not saved in bundles” as well as he supported democracy and considered it as a best way to actively promote self-reliant souls, as Emerson’s central task is Self-Reliance; also he prefers democratic politics not just the outlook of isolated individuals. These conservative commitments of Self-Reliance and democracy were the important principles in
Emerson’s life which shown in the political activities and writings that considered as the heart of the new history. Since Self-Reliance based on theological issues; people cannot distinguish their political importance and their concept appeared in 1841, four years after President Andrew Jackson left his office. In 1828, the election Jackson set up an alliance between woodsmen and farmers from the western border and workers in the eastern cities. Emerson reacted against some specific policies of Jackson that defend slavery and their support for expelling Indian from their land but he expected them to have broader reasons as well. Lot of people as Emerson who is regardless of his non-conformist thought were still conserved many political aspect from the old New England elite that grew up. Being aware about the possibility of the rise of Jackson voters had turned American democracy into mob rule, Emerson wanted to inform people that mass society whose culture and politics build by a wide and diverse audience, should be shaped by the tastes and views of a small and narrow elite which called individuality. b- Society:
Emerson defined society with a very interesting analogy in making individuals opposed to it, he described society as a “joint-stock Company” and he claimed that society based on conservative mode and prefers preservation in traditions and customs. This is prohibiting individuals to express themselves. Emerson in his essay Self-
Reliance spent all his time in criticizing society such as when he said: “These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world” (Emerson 29).
These voices are the voices of individuals that heard in the solitude, Emerson thought that society is ‘in conspiracy’ against individuality, his view of society was negative because society prevents individuals to be strong, he wanted from individuals to trust on themselves and believe that what is true for them is true for everyone. Emerson wanted people to be original and follow what is in his or her private heart; he urged individuals to be in competition with society, to struggle social rules and norms and that man must takes risks instead of conforming to the others and holding responsibility to control society instead of permitting society to control him¹.
c- Culture:
The concept of culture related to how society sees things, values, and people, according to each place, every society has its own way of thinking, way of living, and way of dressing. It is a set of ideas, behaviors, attitudes, values, beliefs, ethnicity, and perceptions that is reflected behaviors; it composes reality and guides people in how they view the world around, these concepts build a feeling of oneness that belongs to any society.
Emerson in his essay set the effect of Self-Reliance on the culture of individuals through changing religious practices and transmitting courage in American citizen to stay at home to develop their own civilization and culture emphasizing on individuality rather than societal progress. He pushed people to be non-conformists and to act upon their insights rather than waiting for the decision of the others, he believed in the value of self-cultivation which affected education and believed that culture devalues individual. Emerson also related culture or travel to religion, his view in travelling means a waste of time, he urged people to not travel in order to change the culture because he noticed that education system fails because schools teach them only to imitate the other side of the world instead of creating our self-culture, and the one who travel in order to develop his own culture or to find something better than he knows; he will travel for the wrong reasons and he will grow old without any result, Emerson also call the young scholars for cutting the relationship with European literary traditions.
Emerson opposed mass culture which consists of manufactured entertainments because its make people far from real question of spiritual health and social justice. And more about this mass society causes the intellectual mediocrity and conformity. Thus Self-Reliance is supporting people to be non-conformists and considered as a way of living for those who want to be individuals in a mass society.
Conformity and Non-conformity
Throughout history, many people tried to live life in a good way by releasing themselves from society’s norms, tradition, and customs. Government, culture, conformity and non-conformity are all examples that led people create a wide range to change these beliefs and thoughts, Conformity is known as a change in belief or behavior according to specific values; its action in accord including social attitudes and practices. Conformity is an accordance and agreement that change people behavior in order to ‘fit in’ or ‘go along’ with the people around them, it is considered as a type of social influence and takes the form of overt social or subtler unconscious influence in a group.
Conformity defined by Eysenck as:
Conformity can be defined as yielding to group pressures, something which nearly all of us do some of the time. Suppose, for example, you go with friends to see a film. You didn't think the film was very good, but all your friends thought that it was absolutely brilliant. You might be tempted to conform by pretending to agree with their verdict on the film rather than being the odd one out. (Eysenck 724).
Conformity used in order to make an agreement to the majority position. The first one or psychologist that should be studied conformity is Jennes (1932), his experiment included a glass bottle full of beans; it was an ambiguous situation, he asked people individually about how many beans are in the bottle, after that he put the group of people with the bottle in one room and asked them to discuss all together, participants were asked to estimate the number of their own in order to see if their initial estimates had altered based on the influence of the majority. Jeness asked them again individually to know whether they want to change their authentic estimates or stay with the group, the majority of the group had changed their decision to be closer to the group estimate¹.
In some situations, the social influence include agreement like the majority of people in a specific group or behaving in a particular way in order to be normal in the group; this is what known by conformity.
Conformity contains two main types: normative and informational influences.
Normative Conformity: Includes changing behavior in order to fit in with the group.
Informational Conformity:
This kind of conformity happens when a person lacks knowledge and asks for help from the group for direction and information. But also there are other reasons why we conform. The following are some major types of conformity:
Compliance:
Considered as the lowest level of conformity, in this type a person changes his public behavior, how they act but not their private beliefs. For example, you might say that you like dub-step music because many other people in your class like dub-step music and you wish to fit in, however privately you dislike this style of music.
Identification:
Is the middle level of conformity and it happens when people conform to be like a particular person, it based upon their social roles, here a person changes their public behavior and their private beliefs but only in the presence of the group. For example, a person may decide to become a vegetarian because all of his new flat mates are vegetarian, however, whenever he walks past a MacDonald’s he can’t resist a Big Mac and when he is away from his flat mates he still eats meat.
Internalization:
This kind is the deepest level of conformity, here a person changes their private belief and their public behavior and acting and believing are in agreement with social pressure. For example, if an individual is influenced by a group of Buddhists and converts to this faith, then their new religious way of life will continue without the presence of the group and they have internalized this belief.
In the other hand non-conformity has been defined as the deflection from a specification, a standard or an expectation. It is usually expressed in modern culture by a general method of authenticity and a disaffection to the ordinary. All these feelings are common among the teenager publics, as most of them are curious about finding a good place and important knowledge in the world that drive them to comfort. Nonconformity is the non fulfillment of a requirement.
And the most famous non-conformists are Thoreau, Martin Luther king Jr., Elvis Presley and Abraham Lincoln.
For example: In the book Santiago had always a dream about a treasure. This dream is to travel the world but his sheep always stopped him. But once he knew that, that was his personal legend he decided to go and fulfill his dream. Santiago also says his purpose in his life is to travel. So Santiago is an example of non-conformity.
Non-conformity is classified on 3 types: major, minor and critical non-conformity.
Minor Non-conformity:
It represents an administrative system and a secondary issue. Any non-conformity does not affect the performance, appearance, and durability; it may result in major or critical non-conformity if not addressed. Probable improvement and the search for any weaknesses in the system should be considered.
Major Non-conformity:
It is based on objective evidence, the absence of significant failure to implement or maintain compliance with the requirements of applicable standards. Major nonconformity, may result in physical failure or shrinkage of the usability of the product to the weight of the intended purpose or appearance, it cannot be completely eliminated by rework or reduced to a minor mismatch by a certified repair.
Critical Non-conformity:
It may result in the production of an unsafe or dangerous product for individuals who use, maintain, depend on the product, or exclude vital performance. This also leads to the rejection or destruction of the cargo.
The United States in the 60s
The 60’s in America is a decade that started in 1960 and ended in 1969.It was an important decade for the Americans because it witnessed many events and changes in politics, society, culture, education and economics.
At the beginning of this period and with the election of President John F. Kennedy, many Americans believed that this decade would be good and full of peace, justice and hope. Unfortunately, it was not because many events affected Americans such as the assassination of President Kennedy, the Civil Rights Movement advocate Dr. Martin Luther King, the Vietnam War, and the Cuban missile crisis. This is what led many Americans to defend their rights, protest against segregation and the war in Vietnam, demand equality between men and women, and fight against poverty and unemployment. Although these negative events happened in this period, many others were quite positive such as the landing of the first man on the moon called Neil Armstrong.
This period also knew other major aspects of lifestyle such as the “hippies and flower power”, “Beatles, rocks and beans”. This was the beginning of the ski era that was started by some surfing enthusiasts in California who were frustrated by the weather and put roller skates on the front and back of the wooden planks.
TV shows witnessed many changes in the appearance of Perry Mason 1957-1966, Rawhide 1959-1966, the Saint 1966-1969, the Prisoner 1967-1968, Ironsides 1967-
1975, and Hogan’s Heroes 1965-1971 and Lassie 1954-1973. Movie stars were also very popular at that time and the most famous were Julie Andrews, Paul Newman, John Wayne, Elizabeth Taylor, Doris Day, Elvis Presley, Richard Burton and Rock Hudson.
The 60’s was a decade controlled by the Vietnam War which its effects were still felt throughout the world. It is also a beginning to show how people can influence politics through the power of peaceful demonstrations. In the West, although politicians were willing to stop demonstrations against their policies, because of the “freedom of expression” was not possible. Many conflicts during the 1960s could be considered part of the ongoing Cold War between East and West (communism and capitalism), but given the nuclear capabilities of both sides he wanted to fling to start a full war as they realized there could not be a winner but both thought her ideology was better, Others influence policy around the world¹.
Many believe the closest the world has come to a World Wide Nuclear War which was in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The United States also witnessed the election of the president John F. Kennedy from 1961 till his assassination in 1963 at Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald. Although his presidency didn’t still a long time because of his murder, but his commitment was still remembered. The Cuban Crisis, Bay of Pigs Invasion and creating the Peace Corps to help underdeveloped nations in areas such as education, farming, health care and construction. For such a short term in office his achievements endeared him to the American People.
During the 1960s, Martin Luther King Jr., who was a civil rights defender and an exceptionally talented speaker, was followed by other great leaders throughout history using nonviolent means alongside the power of speech, and were able to create change through his powerful subsequent influence. He was assassinated on 4 April 1968 by James Earl Ray.
In addition, The 60’s also bought the space race to new heights and ended the race to land a man on the moon and bring him back when America through the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969 put Neil Alden Armstrong became the first humans to land on the Moon fulfilling the American Dream to place a man on the moon before the Russians².