May 3, 2008
May 17, 2008
June 7, 2008
Transcendentalism
for Dummies
First delivered at UUCB on January 14, 2007
Note:
Numbers in parentheses within this sermon are page numbers in the Wilson text
referenced below.
As
some of you may know, in addition to reading through the required texts on the
UU Minister’s Association reading list, I am supplementing my ministerial
education by reading the required texts from courses offered at
Meadville/Lombard Theological School and Starr King School for the Ministry. One
of the courses I am mirroring is Unitarian Universalist History as taught
by Dr. Roxanne Seagraves at Starr King.
I was toodling along quite nicely until I hit the book, The
Transcendentalists, edited by Perry Miller. Ouch! Now this was more than a
bit of a plodding read. Even with Miller removing the more flowery and redundant
passages, the writings of the Transcendentalists fail to grab me. They always
have. I remember reading excerpts from Emerson’s Nature for American
Literature as a junior in high school and Thoreau’s Walden as a
freshman in college. I had the same frustrations now that I did then. Apparently
twenty years of experience and a few more years of formal education failed to
help me in this regard.
I do, however, recognize in the Transcendentalist movement a vital precursor to
the Humanist movement 80 years later. Beyond that I get bogged down in the
European philosophers whose work was the crux of the conflict. My education at
all levels has been decidedly lacking in a disciplined study of philosophy. I
have attempted to supplement throughout the years. Although I remember names,
understand basic terms and recognize broad philosophical themes, I have always
had difficulty recalling details and connecting the arena of work with the
philosopher.
So I can say I've read this anthology once, but if I don't ever have to read it
again it'll be too soon. The Transcendentalists are to me like a sweet, but
slightly annoying great-aunt or a chatty neighbor. I can take them in small
doses. They make for great quotes over which to ponder, but I cannot envision
myself curling up with a cup of tea on a rainy night with one of their tomes. I
render my apologies to the 19th century pantheon of Unitarian demi-gods such as
Emerson, Parker and Thoreau.
So here I am wading through this book all the while thinking, “Holy Smoke, if
I had a final exam on this I’d be toast!” So I turned to other sources.
Google.com came to the rescue, as did oddly enough, an extremely helpful book by
Leslie Perrin Wilson, entitled Thoreau, Emerson and Transcendentalism. I
am forever grateful to the academic publishing powerhouse—Cliff-Notes.
Imagine my surprise when I found myself marginally understanding the
philosophical underpinnings of the movement and completely sympathizing with the
participants. I actually have many things in common with them. I am proof
Transcendentalism is also for dummies.
What really brought me into an appreciation for Transcendentalism was learning
about the history of the movement and the context in which it arose. I’ll
speak more about the context in a bit, but let me just say now that it is
absolutely fascinating to me that this literary, philosophical and religious
movement was essentially a rebellion by a generation of Harvard seminary
students against the beliefs and instructions of the generation that preceded
them, their instructors. These young men, for the seminary students involved in
the beginnings of the movement were all male, had fallen under the influence of
Romantic literature and philosophy from Europe. Emmanuel Kant replaced John
Locke, the favored philosopher of the previous generation, in the hearts of the
Transcendentalists. In fact, “Transcendentalism” as a label for the movement
came from Kant’s writing. The epistemological differences between these two
philosophers drove the older generation almost to apoplectic fits. Kant
dismissed Locke’s theory of the blank slate and argued that both a prior
knowledge and experience contributed to our understanding.
I also find it amusing that while the Transcendentalists were shunned by
mainstream Unitarians and the movement lasted but a couple of decades, really
peaking over a few years, it is the Transcendentalists who permeate our hymnal
while their most strident and prolific critic, Rev. Andrews Norton, is nowhere
to be found. Given my personal tendency
to push back against established norms, I confess this outcome is wholly
satisfactory to me. Particularly with the irony of Norton’s generation
participating in the liberal split from Massachusetts’ congregationalism.
As we move into the reason for the movement and it’s context I should remind
everyone that we’re talking about a geographically small group of people
primarily in Boston and it’s environs with a few sympathetic participants in
the Western Conference. These individuals were generally financially
comfortable and well-educated.
Transcendentalism is a humanistic philosophy. The individual is the center of
the universe and respect for human capabilities are exalted. If we remember the
increasing industrialization of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries this reaction makes a great deal of sense. The individual becomes lost
as a cog in mass production.
Additionally,
dissatisfaction with the spiritual inadequacy of contemporary religion was on
the rise. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous Divinity School address touched more
than a few nerves when he highlighted the lack of warmth coming from the
Unitarian pulpit. He is so scathing in his critique he says he’d rather watch
snow fall than listen to the sermon. I’m glad he’s not around to evaluate
me! Emerson, Parker and the other Transcendentalists viewed religion as a
personal rather than institutional connection with the divine. As you can
imagine, that point of view would be rather unpopular with the institutions.
Transcendentalism was also a reaction to the extreme rationalism of the
Enlightenment. Lliberal Christian ministers in the mid-19th century
remained under the sway of John Locke who believed knowledge is only derived
from direct observation through the physical senses. Kant by contrast presents
knowledge as intuitive. Another reason for the development of the movement was
the growing availability and interest in European literature and philosophy
after 1800. Transcendentalists were heavily influenced by the poetry, romantic
and gothic literature and natural philosophy coming out of primarily Germany,
France and England. Coleridge, Carlyle, Kant, and Cousin were favorites. They
were also influenced by the Swedish mystic Emanuel Swedenborg, and for the first
time the Eastern writings of Confucius and the sacred Hindu texts were available
in English.
So there we have three possible reasons for the advent of this uniquely
New England philosophical and literary phenomena — industrialization,
spiritual hunger and expansion of access to foreign ideas.
The
context of the movement also helps understand their perspective. Historically,
the United States was expanding by leaps and bounds in the first half of the 19th
century. The issue of slavery was coming to a head with territorial annexation
exacerbating the conflict. The pace of industrialization and technological
development including progress in transportation and communication was
increasing.
Politically,
the Transcendentalists were disaffected by contemporary party politics. It was
an outward and rancorous endeavor that did little to elevate the individual
soul. Anyone who thinks the partisan antipathy we’re experiencing today is a
new development in American politics needs to dive back into their history
books.
Socially,
we’re in a time when blacks were slaves, Indians were being pushed further
west if they weren’t being slaughtered, children were working twelve hour days
seven days a week and the mentally ill were chained in dank dreary cellars. The
Transcendentalists were not content simply to write essays, publish journals and
sit around their salons exchanging bon mots. Social reform was of paramount
importance and the participation in the abolitionist movement was probably their
most visible contribution. In addition they were active in advocating for the
rights of the Native American, the organization of labor, and the women’s
rights movement. Transcendentalists were quite active in educational reform.
Bronson Alcott and Elizabeth Peabody’s pedagogy involved conversations
intended to stimulate the intuitive process rather than the simple rote
memorization that imparts factual knowledge. It is important to note however
that Transcendentalism stressed reform of society through perfection of the
individual from within, not through external social means. There were times
Emerson and Thoreau wrote disparagingly of reformers.
Religiously,
Transcendentalism developed primarily out of American Unitarianism and liberal
Christianity in general. The
congregational churches of Massachusetts had experienced a steady split between
conservative and liberal approaches to religion over the preceding decades. In
fact, the Unitarian label was still fairly new when Emerson and his generation
entered seminary at Harvard.
The
Transcendentalists respected the Unitarian minister, William Ellery Channing.
Through his example, Unitarianism had become associated with social reform.
Channing’s form of liberal Christianity included the concept of “likeness to
God” that was incorporated into transcendentalist philosophy. But the sense of
how to understand this likeness was rooted in the rationalist empirical
philosophy of John Locke. The
Transcendentalists were drawn to Kant’s theory of an intuitive, mysterious and
spontaneous nature of knowledge. (29) In the opinion of many Transcendentalists,
religious expression and experience had become devoid of any personal meaning.
Their critique echoes the criticisms lodged against Unitarian Universalism
today—too cerebral, not enough heart and soul.
Philosophically, we’ve seen the primary conflict is one of
epistemology. How do we know what we know? Locke is famous for his assertion of
the tabula rasa—the blank slate of the mind. He claimed, “all ideas capable
of conscious understanding were derived from experience in its interaction with
human physiology.” (30) Kant disagreed. “He believed that sensory experience
revealed things as they appeared, but understanding revealed them as they
were.”(31)
In his 1841 lecture “The Transcendentalist,” Emerson summarizes this
dispute.
It is well known to most of my audience, that the Idealism of the present day acquired the name of Transcendental, from the use of that term by Immanuel Kant…who replied to the skeptical philosophy o Locke, which insisted that there was nothing in the intellect which was not previously in the experience of the senses, by showing that there was a very important class of ideas, or imperative forms, which did not come by experience, but through which experience was acquired; that these were intuitions of the mind itself; and he denominated them Transcendental forms.” (31-32)
We might find it odd or even a bit absurd to argue the point today, but the
dispute between the established Unitarian ministers and professors and the
Transcendentalists was bitter indeed. How dare these young kids read philosophy
on their own and disagree with us!
Culturally, Transcendentalism belongs to the era of the Romantic
movement. Some of the recurrent themes are the exaltation of nature, the noble
savage, the gothic themes of the supernatural and mysterious, symbolic
interpretation of the past and the individual in rebellion. The common man was
elevated and the simple life greatly admired. Thoreau’s stay at Walden Pond
makes a lot of sense in this context.
So
now that we’ve placed this movement in its context, what were its major
tenets? First and foremost, the Transcendentalists believed that a direct
relationship with God and with nature was of paramount importance. Emerson wrote
in Nature that “The foregoing generations beheld God and Nature face to
face; we—through their eyes. Why should we not also enjoy an original relation
to the universe?” (4) Stemming from this belief is the idea of oneness with
the universe. Thoreau’s concept of oneness can be seen in this passage from
Solitude in Walden. “The indescribably innocence and beneficence of
Nature,--of sun and wind and rain, of summer and winter,--such health, such
cheer, they afford forever!…Shall I not have intelligence with the earth? Am I
not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself?” (4)
A
sense of oneness with the cosmos breeds social activism as a consequence. Our
prelude and reflection words this morning may seem out of place with all of these
hymns and readings containing the words of the 19th century
Transcendentalists, but not at all. Were they alive in the 1960s I have no doubt
they’d have been quite vocal with regard to the civil rights movement and some
may very well have marched arm in arm with Dr. King.
This
unity also connects humans intimately with the divine. If God is good and just
than humankind must be innately good and just. “Evil exists only when man has
an imperfect awareness of his essential goodness and godliness.” (5) Oneness
with an omniscient divinity supports the conclusion that thought is largely
intuitive rather than consciously rational.
We’re
conditioned to view things as concrete rather than seeking the higher reality
behind them. Joseph Campbell referred to this as “concretizing the symbol.”
Why exactly do we pledge allegiance to a flag and gasp at the thought of burning
one in protest while turning out back on the indignities the country it
represents endures? Transcendentalism promotes symbolic interpretation over
literal, instinct over reason and personal spirituality over institutional
religion. “Insight into the Universal order always takes place in the mind of
the individual, through his own experience of nature and inner powers of
receptiveness.” (91) Can you imagine how annoying that must be to clergy
within a revelatory tradition? Kant’s famous classroom dictum was “think for
yourself!” No, no, no! Not when it comes to religion you don’t.
So
where does this bring us today—why do modern UUs include the
Transcendentalists in our hymnal but not the preceding generation that
considered them rude and misguided at best, foolish and demented at worst? We
have moved quite far from our Christian roots. The Unitarians of 19th
century New England were avowed and devout Christians. In fact, one of the
conflicts that generated so much bitterness was how these competing
epistemologies impacted the understanding of Biblical miracles and how this
affected Christology—beliefs about Christ.
Transcendentalism
is extraordinarily relevant to the modern Unitarian Universalist. Their social
reform activity is truly inspirational. They directly impacted the efforts of
Gandhi and the civil rights movement. Thoreau, after all, coined “civil
disobedience.” I also view Transcendentalism as a fertile theological ground
for ethical humanism represented so heartily in our denomination. The dismissal
of revelation informing belief is the basis of our denomination’s lack of a
creed today. Our church polity is also in line with Transcendentalism, which
confers “authority on the individual rather than upon those within the
hierarchy of the church.” (30)
Finally,
I think Transcendentalism calls to the modern soul. We too are in an age of
unprecedented technological advancement and the paradox of individual isolation
within a social mass. They were painfully aware of the conflict between distrust
and dislike of technology (they feared its effect on the workforce) and the
convenience it brought their own lives. For example, Emerson wasn’t thrilled
with trains, but traveled on one when lecturing in California. Thoreau wrote,
“Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from
serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end…We are in
great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and
Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate.” (19)
I
think of the Transcendentalists when I experience real spiritual pangs for the
state of our environment and a fear of the effects of global warming while
burning fossil fuels to get here this morning. The Transcendentalists remind me
to take the necessary time to reflect on who I am and how I relate to my cosmic
milieu. What can I do to fulfill my soul, contribute to a healthy society and
provide responsible stewardship to our mutual home? The Transcendentalists may
not provide us with the answers, but they definitely help us ask some truly
important questions.
Peace be with you.
Copyright © 2007
Ann
Fuller, January
2007
Resources
Buell, Lawrence ed. The American Transcendentalists: Essential Writings, Modern Library Classics/Random House, New York, 2006
Miller, Perry ed. The
Transcendentalists: An Anthology, Harvard University Press, Boston, 1971.
Snyder, Rev. Dr.
Joshua. Zen and American Transcendentalism. Sermon Archive, Second
Unitarian Church of Omaha. http://www.secondunitarianomaha.org/sermons.cgi?id=205.
March 5, 2006.
Wilson, Leslie Perrin. Thoreau, Emerson, and Transcendentalism. Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, NJ, 2000.
Websites:
Transcendentalism Site Editor: Rev. Jone Johnson Lewis.
American Transcendentalism Web Virginia Commonwealth University
What Is Transcendentalism? About.com article by Rev. Jone Johnson Lewis.
American Transcendentalism: A Brief Introduction California State University
Transcendentalism Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, The The Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University