Customer Reviews

Self-Reliance and Other Essays

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) is one of America's pre-eminent philosophers. Born into a long line of ministers and preachers, Emerson went to Harvard at the tender age of 14, where he studied to fulfill his destiny and become a minister. Emerson eventually dropped out of this line of work, embarking on a career as a public speaker and serving as the intellectual center of a group called the Transcendentalist Club. This Dover edition contains some of Emerson's best-known essays, specifically "Self-Reliance," as well as his address to the Harvard Divinity School.

Emerson's philosophy, although sometimes painfully explicated upon in his own writings, is best summed up by the word "individualism." To Emerson, it is the individual that should be the fulcrum point in all aspects of life. Emerson then took this philosophy and applied it to a myriad of subjects.

In "History," the first essay in this collection, Emerson attempts to weave his belief in individual expression into the study of historical events. Emerson argues that a reliance on dates, places, and figures is not nearly as important as reaching within oneself to discover the whole of history. This is important because every man contributes to history, and every man can see himself in any history from any part of the world. Emerson also argues that history, as we presently know it and study it, ignores important fundamentals such as metaphysics and nature. What Emerson seems to attempt with this essay is to create a sort of "unified field theory" of history, a history that encompasses every aspect of the human experience, and one in which everyone takes part.

"Self-Reliance," Emerson's masterwork, attempts to explain how man should retain his individualism in the face of society. It is society that stifles the individual, and the trick is to be true to yourself and your conscience. Law should not be, and is not, above the individual. Again, conscience should rule the day. Every man must follow his conscience even if doing so endangers his role in society. This tension between the individual and society Emerson enumerates continues to reverberate to this day.

In his address to the Harvard Divinity School, a real charmer that got Emerson banned from the school for years, he addresses individualism in the context of religion. Emerson, himself a trained minister who eventually resigned his pulpit, urges those about to embark on a career in the clergy to reach inside themselves when preaching. Don't rely on the same old tired formulas everyone else relies on, Emerson says, but see what the holy word means to you and then express what you find to your flock in your own way. It's easy to imagine what people who believe that religion is about rote memorization and rituals eons old thought about this speech. They hated it, and hated Emerson for delivering it to the young people in the audience.

Several other essays round out the collection, all of them utilizing Emerson's keen sense of the power of the individual. That Emerson is still in print today while some of his contemporaries are not is proof enough of the power and influence of his thought. Whether you agree with his arguments or not (and there is much here to disagree with), there is no denying that he has been enormously influential to American thinkers of his time and those who have come after him.

For a buck you can certainly toss this in with whatever else you're ordering this trip. RWE is one of the great articulators of the American mind. For better or worse, here's a distilled vision of what we think. RWE's positive and powerful view of human thought can be uplifting, though some may occasionally experience a desire to snort "Oh, puh-lease!" A great source of pithy quotes and sharp insights, RWE also provides considerable depth if you wade all the way into his works. Everyone should have some collection of Emerson on the shelf, and this collection hits all the high points (though it is not, it should be said, a good choice for those suffering from chronic eyestrain).

Ralph Waldo Emerson, along with Henry David Thoreau, were the leaders of the Transcendentalism movement throughout New England in the mid nineteenth century. Both railed against the 'holier-than-thou' Puritanicalism that engulfed their societies at that time. Their premise was that we are all God's creation and, being so, we all are a more than mere representatives of Him throughout our lives, that your inner self/conscious is God's relating His best purposes for you and that the sole purpose of our lives is to evolve into the God-like creatures we were meant to be. Hew did not see self-reliance as coming solely from internal ego-driven impulses but from the part of God that theoretically exists within all of us. While his writings, at times, are a bit redundant, at other times they ring of pure poetic prose. Anyone who attempts to degrade Emerson's writings or his mid-1800s progressive thoughts only shows his/her own literary ignorance and/or immaturity and have not thought through and absorbed his basic concepts.

From these thoughts we have both the the mould from which the present day New Age Movement and certain types of charismatic Christianity are formed. They have actually stolen and copied his concepts and used them to their social and spiritual advantage. While I have a strong degree of agreement and compassion with Emerson, I tremble at the heights that some Fundamentalists have taken this concept. While they, too, expound of the 'fact' that God speaks to them, in essence what most of them do is expand upon their own inner prejudices and fears. One seldom hears them speak of self-reliance or personal evolution as viable goals to be attained. Instead what we hear is the drone of their own homophobia, continual interference in women's reproductive processes, blatant racism against people of other colors and that they have the only 'true faith' to the exclusion of all others. This is a group that has twisted Emerson's concepts to the demise of their followers and is the exact opposite of the message that he was attempting to convey.

If you can get past his thick language, Emerson is a gem. He mind is both quick and deep, and therefore is enduring. You start seeing common things in an uncommon way. He is a poet-philosopher par excellence.

This selection provides sampling of Emerson's over-all thought. Keep in mind that he is part of the Transcendentalist movement, which was part of the broader religious revival in the mid 1800's. This is the era of Emerson, Thoreau, Dwight L. Moody, Robert Owen and Joseph Smith. You can feel the energy crackling off pages of this book. There is something about this time period that rushed upward.

His essays on "Self-Reliance" and "Experience" are must for all adolescents. We need to cut the teeth of our mind on other people. We need to learn form Emerson, and be better for it.

The genius of the format is that provide the print without any frills, unctuous commentary, or boring exposition. This book is all meat, which is really what we want.

Although I was a bit leery about deciphering Emerson's 19th century English, I decided to read "Self Reliance" after two people recommended it to me. Now, I am very glad that I read it! Yes, the language was a bit tricky at times, but the wonderful message that Emerson speaks about transcends all barriers of time. The concept of which Emerson writes about is a simple one: the importance of man's trust in himself. Yet, at times, trusting ourselves and creating our own pathways can be very difficult things to do. Emerson points out that we subconsciously rely on others -- on things that others have taught us -- as models for how we should think and act. But to be "great," you have to look past everything you've been taught and ignore the judgments of those that loathe your inner self reliance. Emerson tells us to remember that Pythagoras, Socrates, Jesus, Luther, Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton were all judged harshly for their self reliance, yet they reap the greatest rewards of all men.

Emerson also has this to say about what it means to be self reliant: "Let a Stoic open the resources of man, and tell men they are not leaning willows, but can and must detach themselves; that with the exercise of self-trust, new powers shall appear; that a man is the word made flesh, born to shed healing to the nations, that he should be ashamed of our compassion, and that the moment he acts for himself, tossing the laws, the books, idolatries, and customs out the window, we pity him no more, but thank and revere him, -- and that teacher shall restore the life of man to splendor, and make his name dear to all history."

Clearly, Emerson's poetic words are true -- there is a great deal of power in becoming self reliant. Personally, I thought that "Self Reliance" was an awesome, inspiring essay. I think that it is one of the only essays that has ever made me want to go out and change my life. Emerson is truly a masterful orator, and I therefore recommend picking up a copy of "Self Reliance." It probably contains some of the best advice you'll ever get.

Everyone should be arguing about Emerson's constant use of gender-specific titles. It was common practice for (male) writers in the 18th century to do that. But it makes it difficult for modern readers (well, me at least) to fully absorb these otherwise wonderful ideas.

I should rewrite the whole thing in terms that would be friendly to all people (unless, that is, he really WAS only referring to the male audiences that he gave these speeches to).

Emerson and Thoreau are THE two greatest writers regarding transcendentalism in American Literature. Emerson is a genius according to his own definition and the ideas he presents are truly part of what it means to be an American. He preaches to us about self-reliance, basically saying that if we want to make it, if we want to be geniuses in our own niche, if we want to succeed, it needs to come from inside of us. It cannot be from anyone else. These traits define the American. The American is self-reliant. He succeeds on his own. He builds his own dream, and despite impossible odds, succeeds. It is no coincidence that the most stories of rags to riches, 1 week millionaires, and overnight successes are of Americans. The language he uses is beautiful, and simply stated (yet complex in the number of ideas expressed in each word). For these reasons, some people may find it a hard read. I had to read it two or three times myself. But I assure you, the knowledge gained from this book is worth it, and truly gives one deep insight into the power of the self. Therefore, I give this book 5 stars. Emerson paints such a vivid picture of an American trait, that this book has already become an American classic, and thus I believe it should be made an essential component of every American Library.

This is a great book on independent thought and optimism (not to mention lots of cool lines to quote). If you want to be motivated to be yourself and increase your optimism, this is for you.

At a mere buck (eighty cents after Amazon's discount!) this book should be owned, and more importantly, read, by every single American -- no, every person who can read English. It is profound and brilliant, and deep and complex enough that you will discover something new each time you read it. People say those sorts of things about books all the time but with this book it's actually true. If only the ideas of Emerson, Thoreau, and their group had been widely accepted, we would live in a very different, and I think much better, country.

P.S. Maybe it's just me, but I tend to be skeptical of reviews by people who use words like 'cognitive' without knowing what they mean.

This essay, foremost amongst the Thoreau and Emersonian works I've read, has influenced my political views the most. It raises maxim questions about society at all times - not simply the Industrial Age.