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.Someone who believes that the point in life is to transcend beyond their physical body to their higher-self / god-status, on a higher spiritual / metaphysical level, in the afterlife (by completing a divine mission, such as doing something great for the world, becoming the best version of yourself or advancing humanity to a type 5 + civilization, on The Kardashev Scale).
'The transcendentalist may believe that the point in life is to inspire humanity to become so technologically advanced that they scientifically become gods.
They also may 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.'
They also may 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 29, 2023
Get the Transcendentalist mug.A movement of people who, before the civil war, made it their goal to spawn a body of literature that was wholly American and unique from anything the likes of which Europe had seen. Writers of the movement focused on spirituality, romanticism and intuition rather than clear-cut common sense. Transcendentalist literature was also typically very involved in the abolitionist and women's-rights movements.
Some authors who were part of the movement of transcendentalism include Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Emily Dickinson, Theodore Parker, Margaret Fuller, and Harriet Martineau.
by Sithstress April 28, 2010
Get the Transcendentalism mug.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.Transcendentialism, also known as Transcendentalism, Transcendentism, Transcendentianism, Transcendenticism and Transcendism is a theological and philosophical stance that support that humanity and all living beings should transcend and reach godhood or transcend into the divine level of existence or, at least, into any high level of being, and turn humanity into highly evolved beings by religion, spirituality and even technology. Transcendentialism also supports the same ideas as Divinialism and Spiritualicism in order to transcend humanity into a highly level of being, but different from divinialism, transcendentialism supports that evolution to the divine can come from any religion or form of spirituality since they believe on the idea it's possible to reach the divine, and transcendentialism is considered to be more generic than divinialism and more focused on the idea of transcendence to the divine and godhood. Transcendentialism supports that people should do religious and spiritual practices in order to reach the divine and achieve godhood on physical level, but it supports that only by technology it's possible to become extraphysical as gods are or by so much will, energy, concentration and high spiritual energy/vibration by becoming extraphysical without need of technology.
"Transcendentialism is what humanity actually need nowadays, even it might be hard to adopt it nowadays, human evolution will eventually lead into this, it's just a matter of time and technological, scientific and spiritual evolution of mankind, if we want to reach a type IV or type V civilization of Kardashev scale, we will eventually lead into the ideas of transcendentialism, divinialism, extraphysicism and spiritualicism."
by Full Monteirism May 5, 2021
Get the Transcendentialism 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.