Self-Reliance and Other Essays (Dover Thrift Editions: Philosophy)

by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Paperback, 1993

Status

Available

Call number

A > Unitarian Universalism

Description

In an 1841 essay, American transcendentalist philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson delivered a stirring call for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency and to follow their own instincts and ideas. It contains one of Emerson's most famous quotations: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines." Self-Reliance, possibly Emerson's most famous essay, is an investigation into the nature of the "aboriginal self on which a universal reliance may be grounded." It was first published in his 1841 collection, Essays: First Series. Emerson helped start the beginning of the Transcendentalist movement in America.

Publication

Dover Publications (1993), Edition: Unabridged, 128 pages

User reviews

LibraryThing member smichaelwilson

Emerson's Self-Reliance is considered by many to be integral to the beginning of the transcendentalist movement, and while I am not especially a fan of transcendentalism as a whole, I do believe that this work is one of the more coherent proponents of the individual over society. Some of Emerson's

arguments against the individual obtaining anything useful from societal, familial, religious, or governmental organizations may lend themselves towards an increasing slide towards solipsism - nothing exists in a vacuum - and his apparent distaste for travel seems xenophobic in nature (if not intention), his overall treatise that exceptional individuals (he tends to focus on 'artistic geniuses' more often than not) become so by rejecting cultural norms and accepted knowledge and distancing themselves from the common man and his organizational trappings. There are definitely holes in some of his arguments that could be exploited in an open debate, but the bulk of this essay speaks honestly of the need for the individual to seek its own path.

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LibraryThing member buffalogr

This short read/listen is a collection of thoughts published by the author. It it urges readers to trust your gut feeling, rather than follow the herd. It was a difficult listen because of it's English construction dates from it's birth in 1841;also, it seemed like a stream of consciousness.

LibraryThing member uufnn

This classic is a tough read because it's written in the English of more than a hundred and fifty years ago. Yet, some of the passages seem very fresh. It's worth the time.

LibraryThing member steve02476

Read “Self-Reliance” and “The Divinity School Address,” that’s about it. Not knocked out but I have a hard time grasping older writing so I assume the shortcoming is mine and not the text. Also things like this I’ve probably absorbed so much of it secondhand in my life that the stuff

seems obvious or banal or whatever - I’m sure it wasn’t in his day, and he must have seemed original and shocking , but it just doesn’t set me on fire.

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