Write the response of the given discussion

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Reference no: EM131076199

I need respond to the given classmates' initial posts and bring together pieces of the discussion and take those ideas further. These responses should be at least 180 words. You may ask your classmates question about their work.

Student 1:

Reading the biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson it seems that events early in his life led him to become the philosopher that he was. Challenges such as the death of his father when he was eight years old, living in poverty with a single mom and four brothers struggling to get a proper education and an interval of illness encouraged him to seek a higher meaning or explanation of life and nature. Later in life he was married for a brief time which ended in the death of his wife. These events shook his faith and changed his view on religion and church. Emerson believed "The true nature of life was energetic and fluid; its transcendental unity resulted from the convergence of all forces upon the energetic truth, the heart of the moral law" (Emerson 250). Emerson also stated "If humans do not perceive nature as serving them in spiritual as well as material ways, they are likely to disregard and abuse it, and so would never reach the point of transcending their private and human concerns to learn respect for the non-human nature that is truly the not-me" (Woodlief 1990).

Henry David Thoreau's life seemed to parallel Emerson's life when it came to turmoil. He may not have been stricken with poverty, but he did lose the love of his life due to a family conflict with his brother. He was also sick for years with tuberculosis after the loss of his brother at an early age as well as losing his sister to death. Thoreau was seen as an extremist with "his active concern with social issues and his feeling for the unity of humanity and nature" (Thoreau 271).

Through their writings, research and discoveries, both Thoreau and Emerson "pointed the way for us, who live in a more diminished and often polluted nature, to discard our false sense of dominion and superiority and discover our proper ethical and spiritual place in nature" (Woodlief 1990). "We must serve nature's ends for her to serve our lives. That is transcendental eco-wisdom, both timeless and timely" (Woodlief 1990). Basically we need to stop thinking we can predict and control nature and just accept, respect and take care of it to reap the benefits of what it has to offer us.

Thoreau thinks his contemporaries are good neighbors and fair weather friends that were ignorant to the workings of the government and their individual inherent rights. He felt as though the government officials were feeding them false information and rules to follow without reason or explanation. He didn't feel like they had a voice or choice in how they lived and that they were okay with that. It seemed they were fed a list of rules and they were just going through the motions because they thought they had to. "Why, this people mean well, they are only ignorant; they would do better if they knew how: why give your neighbors this pain to treat you as they are not inclined to? But I think again, This is no reason why I should do as they do, or permit others to suffer much greater pain of a different kind" (Thoreau 301). Thoreau certainly didn't feel the need to freely or blindly accept the conditions that the government was putting on them. As such he found himself in jail for not paying required poll taxes. He felt that the items the state was taxing he as well as others was already doing. Such as supporting schools he felt he was already educating people and didn't feel the need to pay taxes on that. He was amazed that the townspeople as well as his friend Ralph Emerson didn't understand that they were obeying laws that they thought were wrong and not asking questions about the laws presented to them that they were obligated to follow. His imprisonment was an enlightenment of the thoughts and actions of his fellow townspeople. "Thoreau's protest, which was not intended to reform society but was simply an act of conscience. If we do not distinguish right from wrong, Thoreau argued that we will eventually lose the capacity to make the distinction and become, instead, morally numb" (McElroy). I'm kind of with Thoreau on paying taxes because we never seem to see what they are really going towards for instance roads, better schools and emergency assistance.

Student 2:

Part 1)

The founder of transcendentalism was Ralph Waldo Emerson and at its' core was the belief in the connection of all living things and a cosmic unity (Simpson). The main beliefs that best represent transcendentalism are idealism, spirituality, and optimism. For example, Emerson "rejected the ordered, rational world of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment ... and embraced human passion and sought deeper insight into the masters of the existence" (Henretta 322). Truth and happiness could be found through feelings, intuition, spirit, and the universe because there is inherent good in man, nature, and the universe. Furthermore, Emerson believed that God was a single being not a trinity and that, He was everywhere, especially in Nature as seen within "Ode to Beauty" lines 35-45 (Emerson 253).

Other American writers such as Henry Thoreau incorporated some of the beliefs of transcendentalism (i.e., idealism, optimism) into their writings. For example "Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once? Men generally, under such a government as this, think that they ought to wait until they have persuaded the majority to alter them. They think that, if they should resist, the remedy would be worse than the evil. But it is the fault of the government itself that the remedy is worse than the evil. It makes it worse" (Thoreau 294).

For many, Thoreau was an advocate for social non-conformity and civil disobedience against unjust laws and also sought self-realization for men.

For instance,

" ... to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government. Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it" (Thoreau 290).

Part 2)

Although some transcendentalists seen Henry Thoreau as an extremist on public and economic issues (Perkins 271), and even Emerson criticized his imprisonment as being "pointless" (McElroy), to Thoreau, his point (reason for night in jail) had been missed. Thoreau argued that "if we do not distinguish right from wrong ... [then we] ... eventually lose the capacity to make the distinction and become, instead, morally numb (McElroy). For example, in "Civil Disobedience", Thoreau states that "There are thousands who are in opinion opposed to slavery and to the war, who yet in effect do nothing to put an end to them; who, esteeming themselves children of Washington and Franklin, sit down with their hands in their pockets, and say that they know not what to do, and do nothing ... "(292). The opponents of reform, he recognizes, are not necessarily politicians but ordinary people who cooperate with the government. In his expression of opposition to slavery, only action and what you do about your objection matters. Any wrong will be amended only by the individual and not through the government (McElroy). I do not think there is a particular societal expectation, convention, or behavior that I would rebel against because when I think of rebel, I think of fighting (and not necessarily with words). Do I have a voice; yes and there are quite a few things I may not agree with and that might even provoke a few curse words. But I would not-not pay my taxes or a speeding ticket or run around in an animal costume with an AK47 in front of a zoo screaming freedom for the animals! Sometimes you have to know what battles to fight before gearing up and with what ammunition to use. I often think our world as a whole would be better off without social media. With the exceptions of what it can contribute to medical facilities, educational purposes, or even ‘real news', there would be less catfishing and hopefully no more twitter photos of Trumps hair but then again, that's just my opinion. We helped in creating our government by voting those in charge of it (we've all contributed in some ways; for the good and the bad) and we have come a long way but there's still a ways to go. Henry Thoreau "reminds us of what we are and what we yet may be" (Perkins 271).

Student 3:

Part 1.

I would be lying if I did not say that the thought of reading poetry did not scare me at first. I am completely unable to function while reading poetry. However when I read Emerson's pieces I actually pictured what he was saying. I believe it helped reading his biography first. While reading Emerson's I felt like I was walking around in a nice spring field but with pain and suffering in my heart due to loss "The acorn's cup, the rain-drop's arc,/The swinging spider's silver line," (Emerson. 25-26). With Thoreau I envisioned being bundled up in a blanket by a fireplace sipping hot chocolate. Two completely different seasons. "I weathered some merry snow storms, and spent some cheerful winter evenings by the fire-side,..." (Thoreau. 280). Thoreau gave the impression that he was stronger emotionally than Emerson but one would have to assume losing someone you love would do that to you.

Part 2.

Thoreau seems like a man with some good ideas and opinions. He also does not seem to care for the government at that time. I get the feeling that he finds most of the military to be pointless to an extent. I find him to more question the government itself than the military men who are serving it "Practically speaking, the opponents to a reform in Massachusetts are not a hundred thousand politicians at the South, but a hundred thousand merchants and farmers here, who are more interested in commerce and agriculture than they are in humanity,..." (Thoreau. 292). Although I get the sense that he loves his country he has a different idea for the people who are running it. Why take these people who are only trying to make a nice quiet life for themselves and put them in the middle of a situation they do not necessarily want to be a part of? "If a man who has no property refuses but once to earn nine shillings for the State, he is put in prison for a period unlimited by any law that I know, and determined only by the discretion of those who placed him there; but if he should steal ninety times nine shillings from the State, he is soon permitted to go at large again." (Thoreau. 295). When I read that I was getting angry right alongside of Thoreau. The more I read the more I could not only see where he was coming from but also how unjust the justice system really was/is. By this point I was ready to overtake the government with him! I understand why there was so many issues between the people and the government. I really enjoyed his ideas and viewpoints. It was an eye opener.

Student 4:

According to the Russell Goodman, "Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century." This movement preaches that it is necessary to have a strong connection with nature in order to create self-reliance. Ralf Waldo Emerson viewed Nature as the "fundamental essence of things" (Carreira). Emerson believed that there was a strong relationship between the actions of man and the outside world. This is interesting because there is a noticeable impact of the sad events in his life and the emotions in his writings. Henry David Thoreau wrote more of nature in the way the word is used today. He wrote about how knowing nature helps a person to know themselves. Interestingly similar to Emerson Thoreau's writings were filled with sadness. "Col. Quoil, he was called. Rumor said that he had been a soldier at Waterloo... His trade here was that of a ditcher. Napoleon went to St. Helena: Quoil came to Walden Woods. All I know of him is tragic" (Thoreau 283).

Part 2

In Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, he describes that he feels people should allow the government to overpower their moral values. He wrote this essay after refusing to pay a poll tax, feeling it was supporting a cause he didn't believe in. he expresses his displeasure with the countries involvement in the war with Mexico. Thoreau wrote "I think that it is not too soon for honest men to rebel and revolutionize. What makes this duty the more urgent is the fact that the country so overrun is not our own, but ours is the invading army" (Thoreau 291). Thoreau felt that his contemporaries were guilty of supporting an unjust cause if they didn't contest it. If I was to rebel against something, it would be extreme political correctness. I feel that forcing people to be PC is breeding a generation of thin-skinned individuals and is setting them up for a life of disappointment. I feel it is better to learn to overcome rather than complain that others need to change.

Reference no: EM131076199

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