Reading & Comprehension

Read Ralph Waldo Emerson's “Nature” (1110), “Self-Reliance” (1163) & “Thoreau” (1231).

Read Margaret Fuller's selection from The Great Lawsuit (1640).

Here is a hypertextual annotated version of "Nature" online at the American Transendentalism Web.

Terms*

Commodity: "Something useful or capable of yielding commercial or other advantages."

Discipline: The task of coming to understand nature well enough so that the truths it embodies can be seen. It requires study (yes, even of science) and spiritual focus. In other words, you should know all that science has to teach before you can go beyond those lessons to the more spiritual ones. Remember that "Understanding" = what we call reason and logic and "Reason" = intuition and imagination, or "higher reason."

Language: You might find it strange that a chapter on language appears in the center of an essay on Nature, but it is key to understanding Emerson. Since he has established that nature is, to all intents and purposes, what we see it to be, how we name it--and how it shapes our language--becomes our reality. Language often limits what we can see; on the other hand, nature provides the material from which we create words. The ultimate experience with nature is that which goes beyond language, when we can contemplate its otherness in silence and reverence, an attitude probably more compatible with American Indian thought or Thoreau's than with Emerson's.

Spirit: Emerson is exploring the Platonic theory of idealism, perhaps best explored by Bishop Berkeley. If all that we can truly know is what we can see and understand, then how can we truly KNOW that anything exists outside of ourselves? The flip side of "I can know anything" = "Is there anything outside of myself?" This can be a paralyzing understanding, as Emerson realizes, but it is the only place his philosophy of self-reliance can lead him. Ironically, by saying that nature is made for man to use and see, even if that seeing is into the underlying unified Spirit of the universe, and that is its only end, then the very reality of nature in and of itself is denied.

(*Definitions and references compliments of American Transcendentalism Web's hypertext version of "Nature.")

Discussion Questions & Topics

Read and discuss the final paragraph of Emerson's biography (1110).

Read the first paragraph of "Nature" (1110). What is Emerson's thesis here? What is his thesis in the entire essay?

Paraphrase and discuss Emerson’s multiple definition of nature on pg. 1111. Define the terms nature, selfhood, art, soul and culure broadly and in Emersonian terms.

What are the dominant themes of "Nature"?

Read the passage on pg. 1112. Write about what you think Emerson means by his notorious assertion: “I become a transparent eye-ball. I am nothing. I see all." (10 minutes.)

Note gender dynamics in “Nature.” What is the role of women in the essay? Discuss how nature/moon = female whereas human/sun = male (1131, 1135).

Read the passage on pg. 1120 regarding city vs. country life. Does Emerson make a critique here similar to Poe's in "The Man of the Crowd"?

What is Emerson’s central beef with humanity? Read passages on pgs. 1136-1137. What is the "moral" of "Nature"?

In The Great Lawsuit, Margaret Fuller critiques gender roles and argues on behalf of female self-development and woment's rights. In this effort, she compares women to African-American slaves. Does she exploit slaves for the sake of feminist concerns or is her claim legitimate?

Assignments

Minitheme #3: Write a minitheme on Emerson's "Nature" and submit via WebCT. DUE DATE: Monday, Oct. 5, 9 a.m.

Discussion #4: "Self-Reliance" makes a case for the development and assertion of individuality. How does Emerson propose one accomplishes this task? If he is making a case for individuality, what is he making a case against? In this discussion, each of you must respond to at least one of your peers in agreement or disagreement. 250-500 words (including both your answer and peer-response). DUE DATE: Monday, Oct. 5, 9 a.m.