The Arrogant Emerson and Self-Reliance Essay -- Self Reliance Essays

The Arrogant Emerson and Self-Reliance To weigh your avow thought, to believe that which is unbent for you in your private heart is true for all men-that is genius (Self-Reliance and other(a) Es presupposes, 19). This statement from the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson provides a summary of the ideas that transcendentalism centered around. Emerson believed that man is innately good, and that if he were left to his own devices with knocked out(p) the structures of society and laws boxing him in, he would create a utopian society very different from the unrivalled Emerson lived in. Emersons ideas make sense in many situations where the curve of society drowns out the voices of individuals, such as African Americans before the Civil Rights movement, or intimidates others so that they never speak, as happens to many witnesses afraid for their own safety. However, I believe that he takes the application of self-reliance too far. In Self-Reliance, Emerson applies his ideas to religi on, stating that men should go back their own creed, not adjust to another one that has been made for them. We moldiness go alone, he says, not seeking the help or influence of others, but formulating our own ideas (Self-Reliance and Other Essays, 30). At this point I disagree with Emerson. I believe that it is arrogant and self-righteous to try and form your own creed and own ideas while ignoring the influence of others. Although self-reliance may pretend a place in our lives, it does not encompass every sentiment of them. In religion, conforming to a creed and listening to what others ache to say has helped me to open my mind, not close it as Emerson suggests. Emerson believed that to seek help and suggestions in your spiritual life was to pollute it. In Self-Reliance, he writ... ...listening to a sermonizer is to shut out new ideas that could be important. Assuming that one knows passable and that he needs no teachings in the ways of God is a self-admiring egotistical at titude. evenry man can always learn much about his spiritual life. Emersons ideas on self-reliance have many applications in life. However, religion is not one of these applications. In religion, it is healthy for man to conform to a certain creed because it leads him to questions and ideas that he may never have asked. It does not close populate as Emerson says, but directs them to look deeper into themselves. human beings is not innately good as Emerson suggests. Since the Fall when Adam and Eve ate the Forbidden Fruit, man has had a sinful nature. Therefore people need guidance, not just their own ideas to lead them. Men should heed the advice of others, not only listen to themselves.