Ralph Waldo Emerson

A thought-inspiring philosopher.

By Ken Black

Early Life

Ralph Waldo Emerson was born on May 25, 1803. His father was the minister of First Church, Boston who

transformed the church into a Unitarian Church (unitarian meaning the belief in god as one person, not in a trinity)

Emerson’s father died when he was only 8 years old. Without a father to provide him with childhood education, his aunt, Mary Moody Emerson taught Waldo about modern conservative churches and she introduced him to Hindu scriptures and Neoplatonism. She was a great influence on Emerson’s future life.

Finding His Place

Emerson graduated from Harvard in 1821 and became a school teacher.

In 1829 he became a minister and married his first wife, Ellen, who died 18 months later.

In 1833 Emerson became a lecturer and in 1835 he married his second wife, Lydia Jackson. Their first son, Waldo died at age 5.

A picture of Emerson’s home in Concord, MA

Emerson The Abolitionist

Emerson traveled around the country giving about 80 lectures a year.

In 1844 Emerson delivered an anti-slavery speech. Emerson even defended the slave rebellion leader John Brown in court.

In 1850 when the Fugitive Slave Act was passed (making it law to return run-away slaves to their homes if they were caught) Emerson said “This is a law which every one of you will break on the earliest occasion; a law which no man can obey or abet without loss of his self-respect and forfeiture of the name of gentleman."

“Self-Reliance”

One of Emerson’s most famous essays was published in 1841, called “Self-Reliance.”

The essay stressed the importance of exploring one-self to discover the voice of God within, to know about the divine. He believed that this was a natural gift given to all beings in creation

Emerson stated that if you look within and find only yourself, then you are considered to be an atheist, devoid of God and purpose.

Emerson said that "It is by following other men's opinions that we are misled and depraved” , meaning that if you do not follow yourself, then you can be corrupted and lose your own unique beliefs.

The Life of Emerson

As Emerson grew older he continued to write essays, poems and give lectures and sermons about nature, philosophy, life, and anti-slavery.

On April 27, 1882 Emerson died in his sleep peacefully at age 79.

Today Emerson’s legacy still is prosperous, being studied by scholars around the world. His ideas highlight unsolved questions that have yet to be answered. Maybe they can’t be solved so we are always striving to become more “self-reliant” people.

Bibliography

http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/ralphwaldoemerson.html

http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/emerson/