《论自助》中的超验主义_英语论文

Transcendentalism in Self Reliance

摘要

在美国历史上，超验主义是一场重要的思想启蒙运动。它极大的促进了美国浪漫主义文学的发展，其中主要的代表是爱默生。在他的小说《论自助》中，爱默生清晰而且深刻地阐述了他的超验主义。阅读并分析《论自助》将帮助我们更好地理解超验主义的文学并且会在日常生活中给我们一些有用的启发。这篇文章的主要观点是要相信你自己并且跟随你的心，而不是跟随他人或被他人影响。但是，爱默生的超验主义受到唯心主义的影响，导致了他的哲学的不足之处。笔者将用一个批判的观点区看待他的超验主义并且会指出他的哲学思想的积极影响。

关键词：超验主义；论自助；爱默生

Abstract

Transcendentalism is an important mind emancipation movement in the history of America. And it promotes the development of American romantic literature a lot, in which the main representative is Ralph Waldo Emerson. He illustrates his transcendentalism clearly and impressively in his Self Reliance. Reading and analyzing Self Reliance will help us understand the philosophy of transcendentalism better and will give us some valuable inspiration in our daily life. The main idea of this great essay is to believe in yourself and follow your heart instead of following others or being influenced by them. However, Emerson’s transcendentalism is influenced by idealism, which results in the deficiency of his philosophy. And this essay will analyze his transcendentalism in a critical mind and point out the positive parts of his thoughts.

Key words：transcendentalism; Emerson; Self Reliance

Contents

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Topic and purpose 1

1.2 Background of the primary elements I will discuss about 1

1.2.1 Ralph Waldo Emerson 1

1.2.2 Self Reliance 1

1.2.3 transcendentalism 1

2. Accessing and decoding the main ideas reflected in the essay 2

2.1 Confidence 2

2.2 Personality 2

2.2.1 Nature 2

2.2.2 Conformity 2

2.2.3 Consistency 3

2.3 Independence 3

2.4 Showing no sympathy to the poor 4

3. Further analysis of his philosophy through comparison with others’ 4

3.1 Critique from Hawthorne 4

3.1.1 The nature of humans—goodness or evil? 4

3.1.2 Apperception and confession 5

3.2 Critique from Confucius 5

4. Positive influences of the idea of self-reliance 6

4.1 Influence on people’s attitude towards life 6

4.2 Influence on individuals 7

4.3 Influence on the country 8

4.4 Assessments from Zhang Ailin 8

5. Inspiration we can learn 8

5.1 Practical significance 8

5.2 Spiritual comfort 9

Conclusion 9

References 11