The Basic Principles of Transcendentalism

Self

• The most significant principle of Transcendentalism is the understanding that each individual has, inside himself, a spark of the divine, of God. Transcendentalists believed that human beings are born "good." By focusing on the soul's inner divinity and connection to God, people demonstrate their own divinity through their actions. Transcendentalism is founded upon the principle of "transcending" any negative self perceptions by focusing on the ideal of God that resides inside all humans. Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance" introduced this Transcendental principle.
  
  

Nature

• The divinity of God is also to be found, Transcendentalists asserted, in Nature. Henry David Thoreau was exhibiting his dedication to this principle through his living at and writing about Walden Pond. His experience living a simple "back to nature" lifestyle was the manifestation of his desire to understand and exist in harmony with the manifestation of God in the natural world. Other writers of the day, notably Nathaniel Hawthorne, were influenced by transcendental principles in their poetic and descriptive writing about the natural world. The plants, animals and seasons of Nature were believed by Transcendentalists to be an outward manifestation of the workings of God in the world.
  
  

Education

• Bronson Alcott (father of Louisa May Alcott) was a significant proponent of educational reform based upon Transcendental principles. Children were, up to this period, often educated under the assumption that they were born needing to be restrained and guided away from their "natural" impulse towards wickedness. Alcott and other Transcendentalists believed that children should be allowed the freedom to behave naturally and that this natural behavior was inherently good and would lead to healthy "self-esteem." This "freedom" principle in education had lasting and far-reaching effects. American culture still firmly believes that developing healthy self-esteem is a crucial aspect of education.
  
  

Duality/Opposites

• The principle of reconciliation of opposites or dualities was also an ideal of the Transcendental movement. The Eastern notion of yin and yang both being necessary for the balance of life's natural movement and progression influenced this aspect of Transcendental thought. Eastern religious systems such as Buddhism and Hinduism influenced Transcendental thinkers to the embrace light and dark, positive and negative as equally necessary. The acceptance of both of these contrasting aspects as equally valuable eliminated the condemnation and judgment espoused by the Puritanical teachings that preceded the Transcendentalists.