FROM NATURALISM TOWARDS HUMANISM: AN EMERSONIAN TRAJECTORY. A thesis submitted to the Theological School of. Drew University in partial fulfillment of

Transcription

1 [These sample pages are not from an actual M.A. thesis nor are the citations necessarily real or accurate, but are included simply to illustrate proper citation style] FROM NATURALISM TOWARDS HUMANISM: AN EMERSONIAN TRAJECTORY A thesis submitted to the Theological School of Drew University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Master of Arts Emily Emerson Epps Drew University Madison, New Jersey May 2005

2 ABSTRACT From Naturalism Towards Humanism: An Emersonian Trajectory M.A. Thesis by Emily Emerson Epps Drew Theological School May 2005 Perhaps the nineteenth century offers up no better example of a superseded Christianity than Ralph Waldo Emerson. But if Emerson truly superseded the church then in some ways he still continues in its project. He is still interested in the sacred. But though discrete acts of historical revelation no longer figure centrally for him, one formal feature of their structure continues to play a role in his extensive oeuvre, namely their pattern of interrelationship via the model of promise and fulfillment. Emerson applies this structure to Nature, his key theme, in several permutations. Each expression of that pattern represents a different way of making a sacred Nature accessible to human experience. But that orientation towards the human conceals a rival location for the sacred once at home in the Christian god, namely the human soul. The thesis here is that as Nature recedes in Emerson s work from making good on its promises, the human soul rises to fill the breach. Emerson thus prepares the way for later, twentieth century religious humanisms such as we find in Buber, Levinas, and the later Derrida. i

3 CONTENTS Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION Chapter 2. EMERSON AS NATURALIST.10 Nature in the Common Sense 13 Nature in the Philosophical Sense.17 Nature in the Spiritual Sense.25 Chapter 3. EMERSON AS HUMANIST. 35 Modern Humanism Levinasian Humanism Chapter 4. TAKING EMERSON WHOLE: FROM NATURALISM TOWARDS HUMANISM.. 55 The Promises of Nature. 60 The Promises of Friendship Chapter 5. CONCLUSIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY. 75 ii

4 Chapter 1 Introduction The nineteenth century offers up few more apt illustrations of post-christian vision than Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is not new or original to read Emerson s work as a secularized gospel. The debate is over the content of that gospel, whether its focus is more on nature or the human soul. According to William Rossi, no single term in Emerson s lexicon is more important than Nature, for understanding his multivalent achievement. 1 In contrast, Raphaela Walda Transcendenti asserts that Emerson was quintessentially humanist. 2 Emerson s own work suggests a competition between nature and the human soul for his deepest devotion. Much as Emerson longed to be an actual naturalist, he knew he lacked the temperament to practice even the early nineteenth century science of his own day. 3 As Rossi notes, already by that time, science was moving away from its hitherto natural theology towards a new materialism that left the universe morally bankrupt. 4 Emerson throughout his life. 5 At the same time, friendship was a high value for The problem for him was how to realize it. It was always easier for Emerson to tribute friendship in poems and lectures, than to navigate the complex emotional spaces of actual friendships. 6 As it happens, the Christianity Emerson was forever leaving offers up a means for 1 William Rossi, Emerson, Nature and Natural Science, in Historical Guide to Ralph Waldo Emerson, ed. Joel Myerson (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), Raphaela WaldaTranscendenti, Emerson as Humanist, Literary Humanism 9, no. 8 (Summer 1990), Rossi, Emerson, Nature and Natural Science, Ibid., Raphaela Walda Transcendenti, Romantic Friendship in Emerson, Studies in Nineteenth Century Culture (Boston: New Old Age Press, 2011), Transcendenti, Emerson as Humanist, 15. 1

5 BIBLIOGRAPHY Arsic, Branka. On Leaving: A Reading of Emerson. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, Emerson, Ralph Waldo. The Collected Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson. 5 vols. Edited by Robert E. Spiller. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press, Essays and Lectures. Edited by Joel Porte. New York: Library of America, The Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson. 15 vols. Edited by Waldo R. Jones. New York: New York University Press, The Letters of Ralph Waldo Emerson. 10 vols. Edited by Raphaela Walda Transcendenti. Boston: New Old Age Publications, Jones, Ralph Waldo. Emersonian Musings. Vol. 2, Emersonian Friendship. Concord, Mass.: Transcendental Press, Larue, Cynthia. Emersonian Naturalisms: The Evolution of the Concept of Nature in Emerson s Thought. PhD diss., Transcendental University, Porte, Joel, and Saundra Morris, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson. New York: Cambridge University Press, Randall, Fuller. Emerson s Ghosts: Literature, Politics, and the Making of Americanists. New York: Oxford University Press, Rossi, William. Emerson, Nature, and Natural Science. In A Historical Guide to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Edited by Joel Myerson, New York: Oxford University Press, Schmidt, Wolfgang. Emerson s Debt to German Transcendental Philosophy. Translated by Seymour Taft. Cambridge, Mass.: New England University Press, Smith, Robert. Emerson s Vision of Nature and Friendship. Transcendental Thinking 30, no. 3 (Fall 1995): Transcendenti, Raphaela Walda. Romantic Friendship in Emerson. Studies in Nineteenth Century Culture. Boston: New Old Age Press, Emerson as Humanist. Literary Humanism 9, no. 8 (Summer 1990):

6 [In-text citation style is ordinarily reserved for theses in the social sciences, and is used here only for purposes of comparison with footnote style] Chapter 1 Introduction The nineteenth century offers up few more apt illustrations of post-christian as a secularized gospel. The debate is over the content of that gospel, whether its focus is nt achievement (2000, 102). In contrast, Raphaela Walda Transcendenti asserts that quintessentially (1990, 13). competition between nature and the human soul for his deepest devotion. Much as Emerson longed to be an actual naturalist, he knew he lacked the temperament to practice even the early nineteenth century science of his own day (Rossi 2000, 102). As Rossi notes, already by that time, science was moving away from its hitherto natural theology (2000, 104). At the same time, friendship was a high value for Emerson throughout his life (Transcendenti 2011, 23). The problem for him was how to realize it. It was always easier for Emerson (Transcendenti 1990, 15). As it happens, the Christianity Emerson was forever leaving offers up a means for measuring the relative importance nature and human relationships had for him. It is according to the relationship between promise and fulfillment, so foundational to Christianity and its parent, Judaism, that the fates of nature and friendship unfold in 1

7 REFERENCES Arsic, Branka On Leaving: A Reading of Emerson. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Emerson, Ralph Waldo The Collected Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson. 5 vols. Ed. Robert E. Spiller. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press Essays and Lectures Ed. Joel Porte. New York: Library of America The Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson vols. Edited by Waldo R. Jones. New York: New York University Press The Letters of Ralph Waldo Emerson vols. Edited by Raphaela Walda Transcendenti. Boston: New Old Age Publications. Jones, Ralph Waldo Emersonian Musings. Vol. 2, Emersonian Friendship. Concord, Mass.: Transcendental Press. Larue, Cynthia Emersonian Naturalisms: The Evolution of the Concept of Nature in Emerson s Thought. PhD diss., Transcendental University. Porte, Joel, and Saundra Morris, eds The Cambridge Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson. New York: Cambridge University Press. Randall, Fuller Emerson s Ghosts: Literature, Politics, and the Making of Americanists. New York: Oxford University Press. Rossi, William Emerson, Nature, and Natural Science. In A Historical Guide to Ralph Waldo Emerson, edited by Joel Myerson, New York: Oxford University Press. Schmidt, Wolfgang Emerson s Debt to German Transcendental Philosophy. Translated by Seymour Taft. Cambridge, Mass.: New England University Press. Smith, Robert Emerson s Vision of Nature and Friendship. Transcendental Thinking 30 (3) (Fall): Transcendenti, Raphaela Walda Emerson as Humanist. Literary Humanism 9 (8) (Summer): Romantic Friendship in Emerson. Studies in Nineteenth Century Culture. Boston: New Old Age Press. 75