Transcendentalism

As far as I understand it, transcendentalism is focused on individualism and self-transcendence--going beyond this world and considering yourself an integral part of the universe. It is very focused on spirituality and the divine, and the idea that higher powers are at work in our lives. To transcendentalists, it seems like we have very little control over our lives, and that we should look to a higher power for everything we do. I think the focus on self-transcendence and individualism is the main strength of the transcendentalist movement. For myself and my values, individualism is definitely something to strive towards, and I think individualists tend to lead happier, more satisfying lives. Self-transcendence is at the top of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, and few people ever reach it. Since it is at the top, it is considered to be very desirable and the ultimate form of self-acceptance. I would, however, consider the spirituality aspect a weakness. If we always believe that some higher power has some control over our lives, we will become accustomed to the idea that our decisions don't matter. This idea that some external force controls our lives is called an external locus of control, and it has been proven to make people less satisfied with their lives than if they feel that they have control over their own lives. If we feel that we have control, we will be more compelled to do the right thing and make decisions based on our beliefs rather than what we think someone else would want.

I would have to say that, for the most part, I agree with Emerson's idea of an inherent goodness in people. I think that it is bad situations or upbringings that generally bring out maliciousness in people. Also, barring those with antisocial personality disorder, people who do bad things feel remorse for their actions. In general, they do not feel glad that they committed a heinous act, and they usually want to repent for their wrongdoings. This illustrates, to me, an inherent good quality in everyone. I also agree with the individualism aspect of transcendentalism. Individualism is very important in our culture, and very highly valued. I believe that individualism is more constructive than collectivism in that people are more motivated by their individualism to do things they really believe in.

The main thing I do not agree with when it comes to transcendentalism is the idea of the divine and that of a higher power. I am not a religious person by any means (I definitely don't have anything against religion either), but I simply have to oppose the idea that we have no control over our own lives. I think that living with this mindset will get you nowhere in life--why would you ever be motivated to achieve anything if you thought that you had no control over whether or not you achieved it? It almost irritates me when people have total belief in the idea of a higher power controlling our lives. It is fine to have a belief in God and believe that He can guide us, but to give one's fate totally to some divine being is, to me, akin to completely giving up in life.

Overall, I would say I lie somewhere in between the Transcendentalists and the Anti-Transcendentalists. As I explained above, there are definitely aspects of transcendentalism, such as the idea of individualism, that I fully believe in. However, I cannot bring myself to declare myself a Transcendentalist because of their views about the divine and higher beings controlling our lives. That simply opposes my inherent beliefs too much. I also disagree with their move away from rationalism. Since I am very much a rational-brained person (I really enjoy science, and working through problems using reason), I don't think a move into the irrational and supernatural would be a good thing. I could not bring myself to think in this way all the time, without any rational thought process, which further increases my separation from the Transcendentalist ideals. On the opposite end, however, I don't know that I could fully declare myself an Anti-Transcendentalist. Their focus on the unconscious and their idea that it was a dark force is definitely something I don't agree with. The unconscious certainly CAN cause problems, but it is not an inherently dark force. I think the Anti-Transcendentalists had too negative a lens on everything--this is the key reason I don't identify with them fully. They were too focused on the dark forces that they believed were lurking in everyone to appreciate the potential for greatness that everybody really has.