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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 4 page essay that looks at Emerson's take on nature in his famous essay "Self-Reliance." American transcendental philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson outlines a perspective that values individualism over unthinking conformity. Just as Martin Luther proposed that individuals can establish a personal relationship with God, without intermediaries such as priests, Emerson eschews the entirety of all established institutions and proposes that individuals, via a direct relationship with nature and their own inner resources, can arrive at perceptions of reality and truths that are just as legitimate, if not more so, than any offered by conventional society. In fact, Emerson pictures unthinking acceptance of societal concepts as inhibiting to personal growth. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khrwensr.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
establish a personal relationship with God, without intermediaries such as priests, Emerson eschews the entirety of all established institutions and proposes that individuals, via a direct relationship with nature and
their own inner resources, can arrive at perceptions of reality and truths that are just as legitimate, if not more so, than any offered by conventional society. In fact, Emerson
pictures unthinking acceptance of societal concepts as inhibiting to personal growth. Emerson begins by referring to the universality of personal ideas and asserts the significance of relying on ones
own impressions. "The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he
has tried" (Emerson 492). As this indicates, Emerson proposes that everyone possesses individuality that is God-given. The basic transcendental message of the beginning paragraphs is to trust oneself, accept ones
situation, yet apply the full force of ones intelligence and will toward utilizing that situation to its fullest potential. After establishing this point, Emerson goes on to contrast this
individualism against the human tendency to be swayed by society and what others think, "What petty oracles nature yields us on this text" (Emerson 492). While it is easy to
be true to oneself in solitude, the hammer of outside voices when in the midst of society tends to sway people toward conformity. Emerson comments that when he was quite
young, he voiced this opinion to a friend who then cautioned him on listening to his own inner direction to the exclusion of all else, saying that this voice may
be from the devil rather than divinely inspired. To this Emerson replied that, even if this were true, he would obey his inner direction regardless. "No law can be sacred
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