5/23/2023 0 Comments Walden life in the woods![]() ![]() So what distinguishes Thoreau from Emerson? Well, for the Walden author, it is nature, not man, that takes center stage. Emerson expressed his Transcendentalist philosophy in famous essays like Nature (1836) and " Self-Reliance" (1841), where he promoted such values as individualism, freedom from conformity, and nature as a source of spiritual renewal for mankind. The leader of the pack was actually Thoreau's pal Ralph Waldo Emerson, who happened to loan him the land by Walden Pond where Thoreau would ultimately commence his personal experiment. The Transcendentalists – proto-hippies, you might say – were a group of writers and thinkers based in Concord, Massachusetts, in the mid-19th century. ![]() Thoreau's refusal to be buttonholed is characteristic of this "wild child" of the American Transcendentalists. In his Journal, he writes, "I am a mystic, a transcendentalist, and a natural philosopher to boot" ( source). When The Advancement of Society asked him what kind of scientist he was, he refused to give a clear response. Henry David Thoreau was a pretty brilliant guy, but he didn't feel the need to answer to anyone. ![]()
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