超验主义-爱默生和卢梭.pptVIP

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau ——New England Transcendentalism 1. Ralph Waldo Emerson Born: May 25,1803 Died: April 27,1882 Era: 19th century philosophy School: Transcendentalism Notable ideas: Self-reliance, over-soul He is an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. 1.1 Biographical introduction Son of a new England clergyman. Went to Harvard, reconsidered Calvinist belief, embraced Unitarianism.(1817) Left his job for Europe and brought back European Romanticism.(1832-1833) Formed Transcendentalist Club and its journal “the Dial”（《日晷》）, became spokesman of New England Transcendentalism.(1835) 1.2 Major works Nature《论自然》(1836): “The Universe is composed of Nature and the Soul, Spirit is present everywhere” The book presents a theory of the universe, its origin, present condition, and final destiny. Nature’s voice pushed American Romanticism into a new phase, the phase of New England Transcendentalism, the summit of American Romanticism/ American Renaissance. It’s considered as the Bible of Transcendentalism. The American Scholar 《美国学者》(1837): In this essay, Emerson calls for a distinctive American style, dealing with American subjects. Thus, it is regarded as “America’s Declaration of Intellectual Independence” . Self-Reliance《论自助》（1841）：“Self-Reliance” is his significant work which expresses his idea of transcendentalism, one focus of which is the primacy of the individual. So it explores individualism at the heart of Emerson’s Transcendental faith: the dignity and the ultimate sanctity of each human being. “Believe in Yourself” is the core point of “Self-Reliance.” Over-soul《论超灵》（1841）： is It is the ninth essay in the 1841 edition of Emerson’s Essays, and it remains one of the best sources of information about his faith. It is a philosophic work, in which Emerson gives an explicit discussion on his idea of the over-soul, with a most comprehensive and sensitive analysis of t