Central ideas of transcentalism

Transcendentalism was a literary and philosophical movement of 19th century. The movement began in United States. The ideas of transcendentalism were developed by Ralph Wando Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Henry David Thoreau, and a group of New England educators, religious leaders, and social reformers.

Some of the main ideas of the transcendentalism were the following:

1. Transcendentalists believe in intuition. Humanbeings have the power to learn from outside through their five senses and inner world by intuition. They have the opinion that religion has no power to transfer the truth, but only the intuition.

2. Transcendentalists had faith in oversoul. It is the divine spirit found in every man. It is omnipresent and omnipotent. All things came from it and everyone is a part of it. Since all people came from the same source and going back to same, it is futile to have clashes in the name of religion.

3. God can be found in nature. Nature is filled with the presence of God. Nature was God's revelation towards humanbeings. Therefore, Nature can influence the human mind. Nature and human mind should join together. The transcendentalists stressed the unity of nature and humans