刘晨晓的论文.docx

刘晨晓的论文.docx

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刘晨晓的论文

ABriefStudyonEmersonandHisTranscendentalism

AGraduationThesisSubmittedby

LiuChenxiao

InPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirements

For

TheDegreeofBachelorofArts

IntheSubjectofEnglishLanguageandLiterature

To

CollegeofForeignLanguages

Of

AgriculturalUniversityofHebei

Supervisor:

JiangZhifang

May20,2010

Candidate

Supervisor

TableofContents

Acknowledgementsi

摘要ii

Abstractii

1.Introduction1

2.TheFormationofEmerson'sTranscendentalism2

2.1HistoricalBackground2

2.1.1SocialCondition2

2.1.2Emerson’sOwnCondition2

2.2OriginandDevelopment3

2.2.1TheOriginoftheTheory3

2.2.2Development6

3.TheCoreNotionsofEmerson’sThought8

3.1TheImportantCoreNotion—Over-Soul8

3.2TheImportantCoreNotion—Self-Reliance9

4.ABriefAnalysisonNature11

4.1TheSignificanceoftheBook11

4.2ABriefExplanationofNature11

5.Conclusion15

Bibliography16

Acknowledgements

ThisthesisisaboutEmersonandhisTranscendentalism.ItiswithgreatpleasurethatIgratefullyacknowledgethemanybenefitsIhaveenjoyedinthiskindofstudy.Iwouldliketotaketheopportunitytoexpressmyheartfeltgratitudetoallthosewhohavehelpedmeinonewayoranotherinthecompletionofthisthesis.

Firstandforemost,Iwouldliketogivemysincerethankstomysupervisor,MsJiangZhifang,forherinstruction,encouragementandkindness.IthankherforhercarefulcorrectionofmythesisandheradvicewhichhashelpedmecompletemystudyofEmerson.

Moreover,IamgratefultoalltheprofessorswhopresentedtheirwonderfullecturesfromwhichIhavebenefitedalot.Specialthanksshouldextendtomycolleagues,withouttheirhelp,thecompletionofthepaperwouldbeimpossible.

Finally,Iwishtoexpressmyappreciationtoallmyclassmatesandfriends,andmyfamilymembers,fortheirsupportandencouragement.Iamindebtedtothemfortheirhelp.

LiuChenxiao

May20,2010

【摘要】拉尔夫•沃尔多•爱默生是美国伟大的思想家，散文家和诗人。

他是美国十九世纪中叶超验主义运动的杰出领导者。

爱默生集古代经典作品的观点于一身并形成了自己的一套哲学理论。

他的超验主义被称之为最重要的世俗宗教，爱默生也被称作“美国精神的先知”和“美国的孔子”。

事实上，爱默生的哲学、宗教和文化源自不同的文化影响。

欧洲浪漫主义、康德的哲学思想和理想主义以及儒家思想都对爱默生的超验主义的形成产生了重大影响。

爱默生的超灵思想和自立思想是其超验主义的核心，“超灵”以自然、人和灵的关系为基础，注重人与自然的和谐，旨在帮助人类领悟真理。

“自立”注重精神，张扬个性，呼吁自助，把人推向了神的高度。

他的《论自然》被认为是超验主义的圣经，这本书给美国人思想开辟了一个新的境地，使美国思想从欧洲桎梏下解放出来。

本论文旨在对爱默生的超验主义核心思想和其著作《论自然》作基础研究，以便更好的理解其超验思想。

【关键词】爱默生；超验主义；超灵；自立

【Abstract】RalphWaldoEmersonwasagreatthinker,essayistandpoetinthemid-19thcenturyandanoutstandingleaderofthetranscendentalmovement.Emersonwasgreattoconfluenceideasofclassicsworksandformedhisownphilosophy.Histranscendentalismwascalledasthemostimportantmundanereligionandhewasregardedas“theprophetofAmericanconsciousness”and“ConfuciusintheUnitedStates”.Actuallyhisphilosophy,hisreligiousandculturalthoughtsweredevelopedfromdifferentsources,forhistranscendentalismisdeeplyinfluencedbyEuropeanRomanticism,Kant’sthoughtsofphilosophyandidealismandtheConfucianism,thesethoughtshelpEmersonalotinforminghistheory.“Over-Soul”and“Self-Reliance”arethecorenotionsofhisthinking.“Over-Soul”basedontherelationshipofnature,humanandspirit,anditlaidstressontheharmonyofhumanandnature,soastohelphumancomprehendingthetruth.“Self-Reliance”paidattentiontothespirit,personalcharacter,callingonSelf-Reliance,anditpushedthehumantotheheightofGod.HisfirstbookNaturewasregardedastheBibleofNewEnglandTranscendentalism,anditopenedupanewrealmtotheAmerican,anditalsoliberatedtheAmericanliteraturefromtheshacklesofEuropean.ThisthesisaimstomakeageneralelementarystudyonEmerson’scorenotionsoftranscendentalism.

【KeyWords】Emerson;Transcendentalism;over-soul;self-reliance

1.Introduction

Wellknownasanessayist,aphilosopher,asage,aseer,apoetorapoliticalreformerintheAmericanliteraryhistory,RalphWaldoEmersonwasarepresentativeoftheAmericanRomanticisminthemid-19thcenturyandanoutstandingleaderofthetranscendentalmovement.Histheoriesanddoctrineshavefar-reachinginfluenceonthebirthofAmericanliterature;healsoplayedanimportantroleinestablishingtheindependentAmericancultureandevenintheformationofthenationalcharactersofAmerica.ThispaperdiscussestheformationandthedevelopmentofEmerson’sthought,statesthecorenotionsinhisthoughtandhasabriefstudyonhisNature.

ThesystemofEmerson’sthoughtsisnumerousandmultifarious,anditisalittlehardtocomprehendeveryaspectofhistheory.ManyresearchershaveconductedilluminatingandinsightfulresearchesintoEmersonfromavarietyofangleofvision.Amongthepioneeringstudies,mostofthempaidmuchattentiontoEmerson’scontributionstoAmericanTranscendentalphilosophyandhisinfluenceonAmericanliteratureandfromtheaspectofhisuniqueviewonnatureandenvironment.Inthisthesis,Emerson’sideaoftranscendentalismintheNatureisconsideredasabigpartinhisthoughtsystematthebeginningofthe19thcentury.ThesignificanceofthisthesisliesinthemicrocosmicpointofviewtostudyEmerson’sthoughts,inordertoletushaveabetterunderstandingofEmerson,andhistranscendentalism.

Therearefivepartsinthispaper.Chapter1isthegeneralintroductionofEmersonandtheaimsaswellasthesignificanceofthisthesis.Chapter2showstheformationanddevelopmentofEmerson’sthought;itwillconsiderthehistoricalbackground,theoriginanddevelopmentofEmerson’stheory,andtriestofindtheinternalandexternalfactors.Chapter3statesthecorenotionsofEmerson’stranscendentalism.ItalsodiscussesthemostimportantfeaturesinEmerson’sphilosophy,religious,andculturalthoughtsuchas“Over-Soul”and“Self-Reliance”.Chapter4discussesthespiritofTranscendentalismintheNature.Emersonbelieveseverythinghadtheirsoulandalsonatureisthesymbolofspirit.Emersongraduallyformedadoubleviewontranscendentalismofnatureinbothmaterialandspiritualdimensions.Chapter5istheconclusionofthispaper.

2.TheFormationofEmerson'sTranscendentalism

TheformationandthedevelopmentofEmerson’sthoughtarerelatedtothehistoryofhistimeandalsorelatedtothefactorsoftheworld.

2.1HistoricalBackground

Historicallyspeaking,anyemergenceofarepresentativefigureorofanewideaisnotaccidental.Thereareexteriorconditions,aswellasinternalfactors,anditistrueofEmerson’sthought.TheformationofEmerson’sthoughthadacloserelationshipwiththesocialconditionsandEmerson’sfamilybackground,withhiseducationandhispersonalmakings.

2.1.1SocialCondition

Afterhalfacentury’sdevelopmentandconstruction,Americahadmademuchprogressinitspolitics,economyandcultureinthe30softhe19thcenturyespeciallyintheboomingindustrywithtrainsandchimneyseverywhereinNewEnglandthatindicatedtheprosperityofthenation’seconomy.Asanewlybornnation,Americanotonlyneededpolitical,economicalanddiplomaticindependencebutalsoneededcorrespondingprosperityinnationalculture.Comparedtotheboomingindustryandeconomy,culturedevelopmentapparentlywaslaggedbehind,letaloneliteraryworksreflectingsubjectmattersofAmericanitself.Duringthisperiod,thestiffandrigiddoctrinesofCalvinismtookthedominantpositioninreligion;asforculture,thethenliteraryworksstillcouldnotcastoffthebondageofBritain—themothercountryofAmerica.Asaresult,Literatureatthattimelackedsenseofnationalismandoriginalspirit.

Underthesecircumstances,thereappearedadesirenursedinsomeAmericanheart:

thedesiretoenhancesenseofnationalismandsenseofnationalliterature.Againstthisbackground,Emerson’stranscendentalismcameintobeingandconsequentlyresultingintranscendentalmovement.ThereformofEmerson’sthoughtinreligionandphilosophygreatlypushedthenationaldevelopmentinAmericanliterature,whichbrokedeeplythroughthedepressingatmosphereinliterature.

2.1.2Emerson’sOwnCondition

SincechildhoodEmersonwasundertheedificationofUnitarianism,whichhadagreatimpactonEmersonatleastintwoaspects:

firstUnitarianismadvocatedlogos,takingsuchvirtuesasreasonandsimplicityinmateriallifeasthesocialnorms.Second,itstressedfreedominone’sfaithandallowedtheautonomyinreligion.ThetwoaspectsplayedanimportantroleintheformationofEmerson’stranscendentalism.Emerson’smother,RuthHaskinsEmerson,keptthefamilyafterherhusband’sdeathwhenRalphwasonlyeight.HerbeliefofstressingthepossibilityofeverydayspiritualityandtheauthenticatingfeelingsofindividualreligiousexperiencepassedontoEmerson.

Besideshismother’sinfluence,hisfather’ssister,MaryMoodyEmersoncontributedgreatlytoEmerson’sintellectualstandards,hisinnergrowthandhisdevelopment.Sheexpressedherselfoneveryconceivabletopicandobligedtheboystodothesame.Shealsohadadeepfeelingforthenaturalworldandforitsconnectionwithcrucialmomentsofhumanexperience.HercharacterandthoughtandevenherwayofdoingthingsinfluencegreatlyonEmerson’scharacterandthought.

Apartfromthereligiousbackground,Emersonisbookish.Hewasinterestedverymuchinhistoryandbiographies;hereadclassicsofdifferentperiodsinhumanhistoryandfromdifferentnations.Thewidereadingsenlargedhisvisionandenrichhismind.Itturnedoutthatallhispreliminarypreparationsinreadingandwritingaredestinedtoformthemakingsofhissuccesslater.Gradually,youngEmersonmaturedbothinhisthoughtandinhiswritingandbecameamanofrichthoughtandscholarofunique