On The Ethical Study Of Emerson’s Thoughts

The Famous American thinker, writer and social activist---Ralph Emerson, the leader of New England Transcendentalism movement, is considered one of America’s greatest figures in the19th century, and gets a lot of reputation. This liberation movement, rising from the New England area then quickly spreading to the entire America, is a real ideological emancipation and cultural liberation movement, and was later known as the American Renaissance. Emerson expressed his Transcendentalism thoughts to the American and European people vividly by spirited speeches with passion, had a significant impact on the spirits of people in the United States and Europe, and provided a solid foundation to the spread of his transcendent ideology in the United States and even the Europe. Until now, works of Emerson still published in various forms in various countries. As the spiritual food for people around the world, his transcendent ideology has been inspired generations of people of all countries, allowing people to find the natural quiet, spiritual forces and peace of mind in his works.Emerson, the sages occupying the important position of the hearts of the American, is the most important spiritual revelator of every generation of Americans. Emerson’s Transcendentalism ideas originated from the profound social and cultural background of Europe and America in the nineteenth century, such as the Westward Movement which had a significant impact on American society, European culture and thought which had always controlled American culture, the barren soul of Americans and their thirst for spiritual home. Meanwhile, the theoretical basis of Emerson’s Transcendentalism thought includes his critique of Unitarian and Calvinism, the absorption of European Romanticism, acceptance and creative use of German classical philosophy and the acceptance and spread of Eastern thought, especially Confucianism which had a greater impact on the peers of the United States at that time.Because Emerson’s Transcendentalism thoughts directly related to human morality and spiritual strength, therefore, the study should be put on the basis of the ethical review in addition to on the traditional history of American literature and the history of the development of American culture. Emerson’s Transcendentalism idea in essence is to convey a moral guideline to the American people, a range of criterion of life leading the American people to realize the spiritual independence, a spirit guide to leading the American people to reach a sublime harmony with efforts, an "American Dream" continually being supplemented and improved which encouraging generations of the American people to work hard and make progress.Through the ethical review of Emerson’s thoughts, we found that the "nature" occupied a major position in Emerson’s Transcendentalism thoughts. He believes that nature can give spiritual enlightenment to humans; natural beauty that unfettered was unreservedly catered to all human beings, meanwhile, human beings can understand the higher moral law or the spirit of the law from nature when freely feeling and appreciating nature; nature shows the beautiful diversity and the eternal moral laws to humans and the human nature is fully consistent with the real nature; for all humans, the best experience of human is the blending of humanity with nature. From the perspective of Transcendentalism, everything in nature is ethical and sacred.In addition to the useful values nature exhibiting to humans, the more important is to find the intrinsic value of nature, especially nature’s function of moral education to humans and the spiritual value of a harmonious unity between human and nature through the combing of human’s spirit and "oversoul"(God). Emerson’s reverence appreciation and love for nature constitute his most original Environmental Ethical thoughts. He explained his Transcendentalism view of nature from the relationship between nature and spirit, and this new relationship between man and nature is an important part and the developing foundation of Transcendentalism Ethics.Starting from the Transcendentalism view of nature, Emerson’s thought considers the nature, God and man as a continuously cycling and indivisible whole. In this organic whole, God is expressed as "oversoul", and the human spirit evolves to the highlights of "oversoul" and is consistent to "oversoul" because of its divine nature; nature, a symbol of the human spirit, is the perfect intermediary communicating "oversoul" and the human spirit. When nature, super spirit, and man organically complete the communication and integration at the level of human spirit and build a harmonious whole, the perfection world of the unity of truth, goodness and beauty also embraces the humans. The expression by words of the perfection world constitutes the best art and literature of humans. Because the expression of the human soul will have a direct influence to its viewer’s mind, it causes the resonance of two souls. Therefore, literature and art is one of the expression methods of "oversoul", and has played an important role in the washing and purification to the human soul. Poets, nature-based, with the combination of oversoul and nature and allowing nature to enter the human mind by oversoul, reveal their individuality and creativity of the soul by the inspiration from literary and artistic works, and play the function of moralization on humans.In order to apply the theoretical Transcendentalism into the practice of human life, American scholars dominated by Emerson, based on the ideological foundation of Transcendentalism view of nature, criticized the burgeoning of Consumerism, viewed nature as the spiritual home of mankind and advocated the practice of a kind of life style returning to nature. Meanwhile, in response to the conservative and mind-imprisoned education crisis, Emerson asserted unlimited possibilities of individual and promote the concept of education for individual’s perfection. Humans continually provide moral precepts for themselves through nature which is the symbolic of the human spirit, highlighted more on the independence and divinity of human spirit, and ultimately formed the perfect unity of truth, goodness and beauty so as to achieve personal perfection.Facing today’s human survival and environmental crises, it only has a very limited and shallow effectiveness and impact just starting from the mandatory provisions of the law to stipulate human’s survival consciousness and environmental awareness, therefore, it is essential to starting from an ethical point of view to subtly change human’s behaviors and cultural values from the mind and spirit, ultimately achieve the moral perfection of individuals and the improvement of community values. Back in the times of Emerson, this crisis had emerged, his Transcendentalism view of nature, the literary and artistic outlook combining "oversouls" with nature, the lifestyle concepts of returning to nature and the education concepts focusing on individual perfection were good cure for the treatment of this social crisis, and gave birth to the budding of Environmental Ethics. It has a very important significance to summarize, interpret, and study in-depth the ethical significance of Emerson’s thoughts for today’s promoting of environmental ethics theory research and practical environmental protection, and the reconstruction of consumption ethics and education ethics.