Nature in American Transcendentalism

Abstract

According to Emerson, an individual has to improve himself through nature, but at the same time, he emphasized that he needs to interact with his society to be a "whole man". In other words, not only nature but also society is both significant for an individual "each fit reproduces the other". According to the philosophy that Emerson founded immersion in the nature is necessary for the improvement of individual, while engagement with the society is indispensable. In other words, only through focusing on both can we live a complete life and make a better society to live in. Thoreau and Emerson emphasized on the transcendentalist idea of human harmony with nature. They believed that nature can help us improve spiritually and help us connect to the rest of the world. According to Transcendental ideas, everything is connected, everything is one. This article tries to delve more deeply into the nature from the view point of American Transcendentalism.