On Emerson's Individualism

Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803一1882)is an outstanding thinker, writer, lecturer in the United States during 19th century. His Transcendentalist Individualism was called the most important mundane religion and he was called the representative of the American transcendentalistic movement. Emerson'Individualism was formed under a certain economic, political and religional background. The thoughts about spirits, personal characters, self-reliance had influenced a lot in the religion, the culture, the society of America.This paper mainly studies the background of Emerson's Individualism and all sorts of ideological misreading of Emerson. It provides some new angles for the research of Emerson. This paper is divided into four parts. The first part focuses on the ideological background, especially from a religious point of view. The chapter one is talking about the background of Emerson'Individualism. The chapter two explains the different ideas such as the inner feelings, human beings individuality, self-confidence. The chapter three explains the meanings of Emerson's Individualism.There are a lot of misunderstandings on the Emerson's thoughts. The chapter four explains the meaning of Emerson'Individualism. It had influenced American a lot in the national spirit, the national personalities. Emerson had an active effect in American during the 19th century. He called for people to live a simple life and pay more attention to their thoughts and he called for people to rely on themselves, escaping from authorities and build up self-reliance. After the Independent War, economy developed so rapidly that it resulted in a lot of social problems which traditional thoughts can not deal with, American needed a new thought to deal with the new reality. In modern time, Emerson'Individualism has some advantages, it helps Chinese escaping from chasing money and material enjoyment. His self-realiance also help us work hard for our future.