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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page essay that draws on Donald Miller's biography of Lewis Mumford, Mumford, A Life, in order to discuss the pervasive influence of Ralph Waldo Emerson on Mumford's worldview. The writer argues that Emerson's philosophy provided the foundation for Mumford's humanistic perspective. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khmum.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
the young American scholars of his day" (xviii). As his suggests, Ralph Waldo Emersons philosophy of self-reliance had a life-long influence on Mumford. An examination of Millers biography reveals
how Emersons concepts provided much of the foundation for Mumfords humanistic slant on life and American culture. While Mumford could be referred to accurately as a scholar, or as
an architectural critic, or as a philosopher, he preferred to think of himself as a writer. His writing encompassed a broad range of subjects. His books from the
1920s, such as The Golden Day (1926) and Herman Melville (1929) were largely on American studies and helped to usher in a resurgence of interest in the American transcendentalists of
the 1850s. The Brown Decades (1931) focused on the architectural achievements of Henry Hobson Richardson and Frank Lloyd Wright. His later work were studies on the emergence of civilization and
the place of communication in human history. Throughout his writing career he continuously modified and expanded his own particular vision of humanism, yet consistently drew on Emersons legacy in doing
so. It was while Mumford was attending New Yorks City College that he first came under the powerful influence of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Miller 6). Years later, when he
gave the commencement speech at his daughters graduation from Radcliffe, he concisely summed up the essence of what he found to be significant in Emersons philosophy -- "Nothing is
sacred but the integrity of your own mind" (Miller 6). As this suggests, Mumford was principally drawn towards Emersons concept of self-reliance. In his famous essay "Self-Reliance," Emerson penned the
ultimate statement on American individuality and expressed the quintessential American attitude toward caring for ones own needs, taking care of ones own business, and not interfering with anyone else. Mumford
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