NEW ENGLAND TRANSCENDENTALISM

New England transcendentalism arose in reaction to the dehumanization and materialistic focus manifested by the Industrial Revolution. Chief among its proponents of radical thinkers and writers was Ralph Waldo Emerson. Transcendentalism arose from the ideas of Locke and Kant. John Locke argued that knowledge is knowable "only by direct observation through the physical senses" (Perrin 2). Kant argues that "truth is innate in all of creation and that knowledge of it is intuitive rather than rational" (Perrin 2). It was from such ideas that the transcendentalists rejected all dogma of traditional belief systems and rational insight as the means of discovering truth and connecting with the God-head. Yet despite the validity of New England transcendentalism and the need for it in an increasingly secular and material society, many argue that the movement eventually faded in significance. As Perrin (1998) writes, "Industrialization continued. Inequities were righted one by one, slowly, rather than through sweeping social change" (3). Such a contention is patently invalid. The ideas and principles of New England transcendentalism remain valid and as a society and individually we remain more in need of adopting them than at any time in history.

The main idea offered by the New England transcendentalists was that the divine spirit is innately present in all living things, including all nature and the human soul. This meant that

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Category: History - N