The American Scholar

One hundred, seventy years ago on this day, Ralph Waldo Emerson presented a paper to the Phi Beta Kappa society at Harvard College. It was a very important and at the same time flawed presentation.

Oliver Wendel Holmes would designate it “America’s intellectual declaration of independence.” Which is probably not overstating the matter by a great deal. Up until this time, roughly, American intellectuals looked to Europe for inspiration.

Here Emerson outlined some central themes of the Transcendentalist position, a philosophical and spiritual perspective flowering within New England’s Unitarian communities. In some ways Transcendentalism could be seen as a first “world philosophical perspective,” as it followed closely upon the first English language publication of various spiritual texts from Asian sources, primarily Hindu and Buddhist.

Unfortunately in the essay Emerson used “women” as a category against which he presented his “man thinking.” This more than unfortunate usage mars the work.

But if we can forgive time and place and the fact no human is ever right on in every regard, particularly in the harsh light of historical perspective, Emerson’s essay was something important.

Here’s the complete text.