Transcendentalism is the view that the basic
truth of the
universe lies
beyond the knowledge obtained from the senses, a
knowledge that
transcendentalists regard as the mere appearance of
things (Adventures
162). Transcendentalists believe the
mind is
where ideas are
formed. The transcendentalist ideas of
God, man,
and the universe
were not all original, but were a combination of other
philosophies and
religions.
One of the major questions of philosophy is
"What is the nature
of the
universe?" Immanuel Kant was one of
the major
Transcendentalists
of his time. One of the major questions
he asked
was, "What
is knowledge, and how is it possible?"
Transcendentalists
believe that one
really only knows personal experiences, and that one
can not know the
universe which exists. Kant came to the
conclusion
that there are
two universes, one of experience, called the
"Phenomenal
Universe", and the other the "Noumenal Universe", the
one of reason. The first is scientific and the other
practical (Frost 42).
Transcendentalists
think there is a dimension of depth in everything
that exists. They
also think the spirit is what controls your physical side
(Halverson
431). Some transcendentalists say the
world has no
beginning in
time, everything takes place according to the laws of
nature. The same people think there is not
necessarily an absolute
Being who causes
the world to be (Frost 42).
Transcendentalists think
nature is a
product of the mind, and without the mind nature would not
exist (Santayana
42). These ideas come from the Romantic
traditions
which originated
in England. The Romantics believed in
spiritual unity
of all forms of
being, with God, humanity, and nature sharing a
universal soul
(Adventures 208).
Transcendentalists came to the conclusion that
good and evil
were things only
man could control. Their belief of man
is that man is
part of the
universe of objects and things. His
knowledge is confined
to ideas. He is able to reason, and he can form ideas
of the outer
world of God,
freedom, and immortality (Frost 53).
Immanuel Kant
said,
"Always act in such a way that the maxim determining your
conduct might as
well become a universal law; act as though you can
will that
everybody shall follow the principle of your action." He called
this the
"categorical imperative." Kant
believed this was a sure
criterion of what
is right and what is wrong. Kant also
made the point
that an act
desired of everyone would be a good act, or if the act is
performed with
good intentions it is good no matter if it brings pain.
He also said
human life is only possible on this moral basis (Frost 95).
Is there a God?
This question has been around for hundreds of
years. Many transcendentalists think they have
answered it. Kant
said there must
be a God who is wise, good, and powerful to join
happiness and
goodness. He thought the idea of God was
necessary
to serve as a
foundation for moral life (Frost 132).
The
transcendentalists
explain that when God made the world, he found it
good, and when
the transcendentalists assumed the Creator's place,
they followed his
example (Santayana 121). Other
transcendentalists
believe the
unseen part of the universe dwells in God (Halverson 429).
Theodore Parker
was nicknamed the Savonarola of
transcendentalism,
by Emerson, because he denied the necessity of
biblical
inspiration and miracles in life (Edwards 479).
Transcendentalists firmly believe that the mind
is superior to
matter. According to Kant, there are intuitions of
the mind itself not
based upon
experience, but through which experience is acquired.
Kant called these
"transcendental forms"(Edwards 480).
Transcendentalists
believe the mind is the only source of knowledge,
but Kant said
there is a world other than the mind (Frost 242). Kant
also thought
humans are shut up in their minds and must interpret
everything. He believed that space and time are not
realities existing
by themselves,
but are ways the mind has of receiving and shaping
sensations. Kant stated, "Take away the thinking
subject, and the
entire corporeal
world will vanish, for it is nothing but the appearance
in the
sensibility of our subject." To the
thinkers who followed Kant the
most logical
solution to the problem of mind and matter was to
eliminate
matter. The mind seemed evident but
matter had to be
interpreted as
something other than and outside of the mind (Frost
243).
Transcendentalists believe many ideas come from
the mind
itself, not from
experience. They believe that these
ideas of the mind
are a very
important part of life. An anonymous
pamphlet (many
believe to be
written by Charles Mayo Ellis), An Essay on
Transcendentalism,
says, "Transcendentalism maintains that man has
ideas that come
not through the five senses, or the power of
reasoning; but
are either the result of direct revelation from God, his
immediate
inspiration, or his immanent presence in the spiritual
world." The transcendentalists called the spiritual
body within the
physical body the
oversoul, the conscience, or the inner light
(Encyclopedia
3). Kant says the mind is like a bowl
with many
crevices and
depressions in it's contour. When one
pours water into
the bowl, it
takes the shape of the bowl, filling all the crevices. In the
same way the
environment pours impressions into the mind and they
are received by
the mind and shaped according to the nature of this
mind (Frost
257). Some transcendentalists think all
minds are alike.
They say all
minds have certain categories such as totality, unity,
plurality, and
reality. Transcendentalists believe
knowledge is limited
to the combined
role of sensibility and understanding, both of which
are concerned
with sense and experience, though in different ways
(Hakim 98). They also think knowledge is universal (Frost
258).
Some
transcendentalists think the ideas are of the mind and cannot
be applied to a
world outside of the mind. They believe
ideas are a
result of the
kind of thinking organ which people have, and are
determined by
it's nature.
Transcendentalism is a combination of beliefs,
some of which
are from other
religions and other people and their philosophies. It is
a belief that
there is another way knowledge is obtained, not only from
the senses, but
also from the mind.
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