A concept that was the base of the Transcendental Movement of the 1830s. Represents an idealistic thought system that focused on the spirit and felt it more important than mere matter. Follwers believed in a supreme being, the Oversoul, which was all powerful and good. Transcendentalism generally supported modern reforms in order to attain a general cooperation and understanding among all.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, a well-known Transcendentalist, showed his affinity with Transcendentalism as he related to the concepts of spirit over matter.
by Laera December 31, 2003
Get the Transcendentalism mug.The belief or philosophy that if you become the best version of yourself or complete a divine mission, (esp. advancing humanity spiritually / intellectually / technologically to become a type 5 + civilization, on The Kardashev Scale), you can apotheosize (ascend to godhood / your higher-self), in the highest plane of existence, beyond the confines of the physical one, during the afterlife.
'Those who follow transcendentalism, believe that in order to be physically closer to the gods and live in their realm for eternity, we must advance our technology / clock The Kardashev Scale.'
by Diana_Lucius_De_Collis March 17, 2023
Get the Transcendentalism mug.Ralph Waldo Emerson formed the group of Transcendentalism, which believed one could unlock life's secrets without the use of groups or society.
by mindfault May 26, 2009
Get the Transcendentalism mug.The transcendentalists lived mostly in or around New England during the years shortly before the Civil War. The prevalent state of mind at that time was that religion (Jewish and Christian) was something rooted in dogma which simply must have been true, for it had been practiced that way for years. However, the transcendentalists dared to dig beneath---nay, beyond--the doctrines and explore sacred texts and canons outside of tradition, as well as explore their own spirituality. The transcendentalists sought to rebel against typical European classic and contemporary literature, to diverge from the dry, crumbling tomes of old and dip their fingers into romance and adventure and every other little brook sketching out across this new (or reborn) frontier, fiction, of personal spiritual exploration, of peculiarly poetic prose pondering on creation, nature, whatever surrounded him or her...
...Those around the transcendentalists were not so bold. They preferred to stay within the confines of their strictly corseted literature, where they were safe from marring influences that could taint the purity of their perfect art. They were frightened of rebuke, and thus they mocked the transcendentalists and all they stood for, never bothering to step beyond what they, their parents, and their parents' parents had been raised on from the breast on up to adulthood. The transcendentalists scorned such sheeply thinking in their own way, slapping the fleshy red cheek of the slave-owning, high-hat, dogma-pushing, nationalistic, jingoistic, verging-on-capitalist matron that was 19th century American society.
"As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives."
~Henry David Thoreau
"As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives."
~Henry David Thoreau
by Sithstress May 26, 2010
Get the Transcendentalist mug.A philosophy developed after the civil war by a collection of American writers. Transcendentalists believe in a supernatural force called " The Over Soul" which all energy originates from, and eventually returns to. An example of Transcendentalist thought is expanding the mind through connectivity to nature; meaning to accept nature as a part of the universal energy, and also accepting that what might be thought of as the "unnatural" ( or in direct opposition to nature) in fact comes from that same energy. Do not consider this a religion, but merely a perspective on life meant to expand the mind and question the mysteries of our existence.
by Mind91 July 14, 2010
Get the Transcendentalism mug.1. The characteristic of meaning derived from real.
2. A school of thought in the 1830s based on the idea of finding (greater) meaning in everyday objects. That meaning transcends the object itself. For instance Henry David Thoreau might write poetry about grass growing, but the meaning of the poem transcends from real to abstract, and in that way is transcendental.
Therefore anything that is abstract, but derives its meaning from real (tangible objects, ideas, or experiences) is transcendental.
2. A school of thought in the 1830s based on the idea of finding (greater) meaning in everyday objects. That meaning transcends the object itself. For instance Henry David Thoreau might write poetry about grass growing, but the meaning of the poem transcends from real to abstract, and in that way is transcendental.
Therefore anything that is abstract, but derives its meaning from real (tangible objects, ideas, or experiences) is transcendental.
By studying and observing the world one may obtain transcendental wisdom. The transcendentalists based their philosophies on observations of the world, not on prayer, inner feelings, or suernatural miracles.
If the works of God are made manifest in the world, then by understanding the physical world one may obtain transcendental wisdom of God's nature. The meaning of life may be contained within the flow of a stream.
My paper is about the greater meaning of everyday objects, and so is about transcendentalism (as an idea, it's not about the movement), and begins by discussing art then transcends the art itself (a painting of the color red represents more than that) and discusses its greater meaning, thus the paper starts with material objects, and moves to greater meaning and is doubly transcendental.
*note: Transcendental thought is normally restricted to the idea of observing the natural world and not art as I used in an example. Although it can be used for both, it is generally closely tied to the transcendental movement; which was based on deriving meaning through nature.
If the works of God are made manifest in the world, then by understanding the physical world one may obtain transcendental wisdom of God's nature. The meaning of life may be contained within the flow of a stream.
My paper is about the greater meaning of everyday objects, and so is about transcendentalism (as an idea, it's not about the movement), and begins by discussing art then transcends the art itself (a painting of the color red represents more than that) and discusses its greater meaning, thus the paper starts with material objects, and moves to greater meaning and is doubly transcendental.
*note: Transcendental thought is normally restricted to the idea of observing the natural world and not art as I used in an example. Although it can be used for both, it is generally closely tied to the transcendental movement; which was based on deriving meaning through nature.
by MarkHM October 31, 2005
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