transcendentalists
Emerson's philosophical circle
Transcendentalists are followers of transcendentalism, the nineteenth-century American philosophical movement centered on individual intuition, nature, and spiritual truth beyond sensory experience.
The term most often refers to the circle around Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau: The transcendentalists rejected materialism and organized religion.
More broadly, anyone who emphasizes intuitive knowledge over empirical evidence.
Anglo surname, various namesakes
- Thoreau19th-century American naturalist-essayist
- Alcott19th-century American novelist
- ConcordUnity or famous places
- American Renaissance1850s literary-philosophical flourishing
Dial · Ripley · Peabody · abolitionism · reform · antebellum · lectures · essays
Universal unifying consciousness
- intuitionInstinctive immediate understanding
- idealismBelief in noble principles
- inner lightSpiritual guidance within oneself
- correspondenceExchanged written communication
self-reliance · nonconformity · individualism · organicism · perfectibility · immanence · divinity · unity
Universal unifying consciousness
- divinitySacred nature or nougat-like sweet
- soulInnermost animating essence
- mysticismPursuit of divine union
- enlightenmentProfound spiritual awakening
sacred · immanence · meditation · inner light · universal spirit · higher truth · revelation · faith
Depending on oneself alone
- nonconformityRejection of prevailing norms
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- self-cultureVoluntary personal development
- independenceFreedom from external control
originality · self-expression · solitude · introspection · self-determination · authenticity · personal truth · inner voice
Massachusetts pond, simplicity symbol
- wildernessUncultivated, uninhabited natural region
- simplicityLack of complexity
- woodsForested area
- solitudeState of being alone
contemplation · natural world · seasons · ecology · environment · landscape · forest · rivers
Emerson
Anglo surname, various namesakes
- Thoreau19th-century American naturalist-essayist
- Alcott19th-century American novelist
- ConcordUnity or famous places
American Renaissance · Dial · Ripley · Peabody · abolitionism · reform · antebellum · lectures · essays · civil disobedience
oversoul
Universal unifying consciousness
- intuitionInstinctive immediate understanding
- idealismBelief in noble principles
- inner lightSpiritual guidance within oneself
correspondence · self-reliance · nonconformity · individualism · organicism · perfectibility · immanence · divinity · unity · Kant
oversoul
Universal unifying consciousness
- divinitySacred nature or nougat-like sweet
- soulInnermost animating essence
- mysticismPursuit of divine union
enlightenment · sacred · immanence · meditation · inner light · universal spirit · higher truth · revelation · faith · holiness
self-reliance
Depending on oneself alone
- nonconformityRejection of prevailing norms
- autonomyIndependent decision-making capacity
- self-cultureVoluntary personal development
independence · originality · self-expression · solitude · introspection · self-determination · authenticity · personal truth · inner voice · conscience
Walden Pond
Massachusetts pond, simplicity symbol
- wildernessUncultivated, uninhabited natural region
- simplicityLack of complexity
- woodsForested area
solitude · contemplation · natural world · seasons · ecology · environment · landscape · forest · rivers · earth
- thinkersthinkers, thinker, philosophers, philosopher, Aristotle
- Concord HistoryMinutemen, Lexington and Concord, Walden Pond, Emerson, Thoreau
- Literary Groupswriting group, writers group, poetry circle, writing circle, writers workshop
- philosophersAristotle, Plato, Socrates, Kant, Descartes
- Utopiansutopians, idealists, visionaries, dreamers, communitarians
- believersbeliever, believers, adherent, devotee, theist
transcendentalistsempiricists
Philosophers favoring sensory knowledge
positivists · sensationalists · pragmatists · John Locke · David Hume
transcendentalistsmaterialists
Prioritizers of physical possessions
naturalists · mechanists · reductionists · nihilists · secular humanists