Philosophy Brew-Ha Ha

8 Pages 1895 Words

her quote from his popular essay, “Self-Reliance,” supports this. “And we are now men, and must accept in the highest mind the same transcendent destiny; and not minors and invalids in a protected corner, not cowards fleeing before a revolution, but guides, redeemers and benefactors, obeying the Almighty effort and advancing on Chaos and the Dark” (213). Emerson also had the idea that we need to be ourselves, especially in the things that we say. Again from the popular essay, “Self-Reliance,” he spoke about how we need to say what we think one day, and then speak what is on your mind the next day, even if you completely contradict what you said in the first day. Then he said that people will definitely not understand you if this happens (216). That goes along with the whole idea above about how transcendentalism was widely misunderstood because even the great minds that thought it up don’t fully understand everything about the philosophy. Emerson concludes this thought to say that, “To be great is to be misunderstood” (217). Emerson is obviously the father of transcendentalism, and his great ideas were conveyed in his brilliant essays, journals, and poems. He helped pass the philosophy on to other philosophers and writers.
o Jean-Jacques Rousseau
The question that enters my mind first as I read Rousseau's Emile is what is the difference between a 20th-centur...