Essay Example on Unlock Your True Potential: The Philosophy of Transcendentalism

Transcendentalism is a philosophical and social movement that emphasizes the inherent goodness of all nature and humanity, and also, they believe that they find truth throughout their intuition and imaginations (Versluis). The movement believes that society and religions have corrupted the purity of an individual. However, the movement believed that a real community could only be formed by individuals who are self-reliant and independent of these forces. Furthermore, self-reliance gives a person in society the freedom they need to discover one's true self and attain one's true independence (Emerson). This paper will thoroughly analyze how individuals can be self-reliant in the community.

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According to Emerson, self-reliance is the ability to decide without needing the help of other people in society. Emerson acknowledged that independent thinking was very significant to an individual since it always goes hand in hand with one being able to trust their soul. He emphasizes that the only time that a person is ready to be self-reliant in a society is the time he can make a decision based on his intuition. consequently,Emerson thinks that if an individual can believe something and go it thorough and find that its merits outweighs its demerits, then there should be nothing stopping them from doing it.

Furthermore, he also acknowledges that for anyone to be self-reliant, then they have to embrace their individuality and also to be one best friend. He went on to elaborate that, for anyone in the society to find them selves then they have to find that one thing that makes them happy regardless of how the world perceives it. Once they can accept themselves for whom they are, then they can express their better selves without much worry over the opinion of society. Furthermore, he thinks that when one can understand their characters and appreciate them, is an important aspect that helps individual support themselves in life. Moreover, if one can be his own best friend, he does not necessarily need people because he is ever satisfied with himself.

Emmerson went on to acknowledge that self-reliance can only be achieved by individuals who can express confidence in the decisions they make, regardless of what the community expects of them. According to him, the society may not be aligned with our own believes because even the organization believes are made from an individual perceptive. When a personal perspective is not aligned with the community's believes, it tends to create cognitive dissonance that can be unpleasant to deal with. Hence, even with this uncomfortable feeling, an individual should not confine themselves to this society believes if their own beliefs are not in line with the social expectation.

In a recent report, self-reliance is also achieved by individuals who can create their personal goals and individual expectations. For an individual to be self-reliant in society, he needs to define his aspirations in life and create goals that would ensure that he can live the life he expects. According to Keizer (2019), goals creating are not the most important thing to an individual but having the ability to commit to those goals regardless of the social expectations. When an individual is primarily focused on their own goals and aspirations, they dictate what they do and how they do it. In such a case, rarely is there a force that can deviate the focus of an individual from this self-expectations and goals.

According to Tinh and Tien, self-reliance also requires an individual to acknowledge that sometimes they may depend on others. He further explains that once an individual can recognize that when we tend to turn to others,for help, that is part of knowledge.however they emphasise the need of an individual to be able manage dependencies not to compromise our self-reliance. Hence, it is not necessary to always confirm with others whether whatever one is doing is correct. Since this would compromise the way an individual achieves their goals and to be self-reliant one needs to achieve their goals in their way.

Self-reliance is also achieved when an individual can make their happiness without any dependency on any external factor apart from their inner selves. According to kondo, when an individual can attain true joy in life, then regardless of whatever he faces in life doesn't affect his happiness since his happiness is dependant on the inner self. And when this is the case, one can be even self-reliant in creating happiness for oneself. This helps people achieve their goals and live their life as their true selves.

Conclusion

In conclusion, transcendentalism advocates for an individual to embrace their instincts and find their path and not to conform to the social expectation and hence end up following other people's way. Henceforth lack of acknowledging one's intuition and believes can only lead to the death of an individual since they end up using other individuals' beliefs that they are made to think by religion. The society is what a rational individual is expected to do by the community. Therefore self-reliance is the mother of independence and is the foundation of a productive, efficient, and self-sustaining society.

References

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Self-reliance. Lulu. com, 2019.

Keizer, Anne-Greet. "The Importance of Mental Capacities for Self-reliance." Why Knowing What To Do Is Not Enough. Springer, Dordrecht, 2019. 1-11.

Kondo, Tomohiko. "Stoic Happiness as Self-Activity." The Realizations of the Self. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2018. 167-183.

Tinh, Nguyen Thi, and Mr Pham Dao Tien. "MANAGEMENT OF STUDENT'S LEARNING ACTIVITIES BASED ON INTERNAL SCHOOL'S ABILITY." European journal of education and applied psychology 1

Versluis, Arthur. "Multiculturalism and Transcendentalism." Academic Questions 32.4 (2019): 515-520.