Honest Tea Video + Your Opinion

Are people inherently* good? Or inherently evil? Why do you think so? (*naturally). Why do you think so?

WRITE THIS DOWN

Transcendentalism: belief that humans are inherently good, perfectible, individual Anti-transcendentalism: belief that humans are inherently evil, cynical

Rationalism Romanticism Transcendentalism

Goal: Understand the Philosophies and American Literary Movements of: 1. Rationalists (1750-1800) 2. Romantics (1800-1850) 3. Transcendentalists (1850s)

Reviewing the Time-line

1700-1750 Puritans value EMOTION
Think of the hysteria in The Crucible

1750-1800 Rationalists value REASON

(ie Age of Reason)

1800-1850 Romantics value EMOTION

1850s Transcendentalists

Part 2 Rationalism: 1750-1800

Focused on a national mission, democratic Utopia, and using reason. Literature instilled patriotism & showed differences between Americans & Europeans. Declaration of Independence Common Sense Give me Liberty or Give Me Death Writers include: Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, John Locke, Thomas Paine

Nature in the Age of Reason

Nature in the Romantic Age

Nature in the Romantic Age

Talk with your partner: Whats going on in the Nation @ 1850?

Huge population growth: Expansion WESTWARD Growth of urban centersIndustrial Revolution Mexican-American War; Civil War Defining a New Nation
American patriotism as individual from Britain Desire for a national literature to glorify the American land

Romanticism 1800-1855
Focused on emotions Emphasized imagination over reason & intuition over fact Literature could be interpreted on the surface or at a deeper philosophical level Writers include: Edgar Allan Poe (Gothic writer), Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman

Romantic Values and Beliefs

Fascination with nature Value individual freedom (vs. Puritans) Trust in human imagination & intuition Truth found in spiritual, not physical Faith in child-like innocenceAll humans inherently good Transcendentalism (well get to that)

Part 3 With your partner: Read the Quote in your Packet.

What the ******* is this guy trying to say? Make the best interpretation you can.

Part 4
Transcendentalism is a SUBGROUP of Romanticism
The two are very closely related, but transcendentalism came on the scene in the 1850s

Transcendentalist Philosophy
matters of God transcend human experience
Reaction to DEISM (atheism) present in Rationalists Age of Reason Wanted to create religious consciousness that would exhibit freedom and democracy of the new nation

Transcendentalism is
A belief system A literary movement in the US in the

Transcendentalism is NOT
A religion

Transcendentalists believe
1. The individual is the spiritual center of the universe 2. The human spirit is reflected in nature 3. By observing nature and our feelings, we can find truth 4. In the goodness and perfectibility of humans 4. A universal Over Soul unites God, nature, and humanity

Transcendentalists do NOT believe

In the norm or what society says we should do That humans should control nature We can find truth by using reason and principles in every-day experiences God has appointed us to gain glory and wealthagainst materialism

In short

Humans = Nature = God

In Short
Humans = Nature = God
Connected through Over-Soul: all-encompassing power for goodness @ birth: get a piece to use as your moral compass in life @ death: your goodness goes back into OverSoul Eyeball Quote calls the Over-Soul the Universal Being

Anti-transcendentalism
Spiritual forces are NOT always positive Dark view of humanity Humans, underneath the surface, are:
Corrupt Insane Evil

The Romantic Artist

Is a prophet Can connect humans with the divine Writes to provide a link to divine worldhence heavy focus on symbolism, imagination
TRANSCENDENTALIST: Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman ANTI-TRANSCENDENTALIST: Hawthorne, Poe, Whitman

Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803-1882

Founder of American Transcendentalist movement Heavily influenced by the philosopher Kant and British Romantic poet Coleridge Famous works: Nature (1836), Essays including Self Reliance (1841) A compelling speaker, trained as a Unitarian minister Gave the speech at Thoreaus funeral in 1862

Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862

Befriended Emerson after graduating from Harvard Very idealistic: thrown into jail for not paying taxes, spoke out against slavery Moved into the cabin at Walden Pond on July 4, 1845. Wanted to simplify his life by working about six weeks per year Published Walden-- which detailed his experience at the cabin-- in 1854.