irect observation through the physical senses,ö while Kant maintained that ôtruth is innate in all creation and that knowledge of it is intuitive rather than rationalö (Perrin 1998, 2). Instead of relying on traditional dogma to discover the God-head, the transcendentalists viewed knowledge of a higher force to be inherent in all human beings. The god in the skies of traditional dogma was part of the self or internally discoverable to Emerson, ôThe purpose of life seems to be to acquaint man with himselfàThe highest revelation is that God is in every manö (New 2003, 2). Emerson focused on such core values of his philosophy as intuition, individuality, and self-reliance.
EmersonÆs student and a primary leader of the transcendentalist movement was Henry David Thoreau. While living alone at Walden Pond for a period of two years, Thoreau wrote his treatise on transcendentalism known as Walden. Walden combines observation, social criticism and philosophical insights from Thoreau. Its main purpose is to motivate individuals to examine their own lives and thinking. Walden is a sometimes vitriolic and hostile observation of the social conventions, values, and norms of mid-19th century American culture. ThoreauÆs solutions to the problem engendered by industrialism were a recommitment to the ôsimple lifeö and a rededication to the ôHigher Laws.ö The ôHigher Lawsö espoused by Thoreau all link man more firmly to nature while reducing his dependency upon machines and their products. We simply need less to be more fully alive. This view emerges from ThoreauÆs transcendentalist philosophy which believes that the forms of the visible world embody the realities of things unseen. Individuals who cannot see this are doomed to lead a life that is less than full, ôThe mass of men are still and always young in this respectö
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