Henry David Thoreau's perspective

[Galyna]

Hey guys, quick question while doing my research for the homework assignment. 

Do you think Henry David Thoreau had any idea what we are talking about here? Reading this now and not quite sure: 

"Thoreau was a philosopher of nature and its relation to the human condition. In his early years he followed Transcendentalism, a loose and eclectic idealist philosophy advocated by Emerson, Fuller, and Alcott. They held that an ideal spiritual state transcends, or goes beyond, the physical and empirical, and that one achieves that insight via personal intuition rather than religious doctrine."

Seemed like he had some interesting viewpoint about objective empiricism.

References:

Wikipedia contributors. "Henry David Thoreau." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 5 Feb. 2020. Web. 6 Feb. 2020.

Thank you  

Edited February 6, 2020 by Galyna

[loub]

This is a job for @flume and her impressive collection of insightful and thorough Thoreau quotes.

For starters: "Instead of money, fame, recognition and love... give me truth."

Ime if you read about his life it becomes obvious that he had more than just a clue about what we are talking about here. He spent most of his life living in solitude in a cabin in the woods, you ought to run into some mystical experiences, plus he shows clear signs of metaphysical curiosity and a kind of otherworldly sentimentality. The pursuit of truth is not a modern development and he clearly was involved in it.

He was, however probably not aware of the scope of what this work is all about. He seems solidly grounded in stage green spirituality. Which propelled him lightyears ahead of the society and time he was living in. An impressive achievement.

Edited February 6, 2020 by loub

[Galyna]

On 2/6/2020 at 5:57 AM, loub said:

Ime if you read about his life it becomes obvious that he had more than just a clue about what we are talking about here. He spent most of his life living in solitude in a cabin in the woods, you ought to run into some mystical experiences, plus he shows clear signs of metaphysical curiosity and a kind of otherworldly sentimentality. The pursuit of truth is not a modern development and he clearly was involved in it.

Thank you for your comment. I am very sorry for the late response. I am swamped with a lot of homework. Yeah, I read on the Wiki that he spent about two years in that cabin next to the Walden Pond. Then, they sent him to the prison because he refused to pay taxes. He was a free spirit, rebel I would say. He had an interesting personality. Also, I think he was ashamed of his sexuality, since, most likely,  he was a gay. But for sure he had a very interesting mental structure. 

Edited February 7, 2020 by Galyna

[flume]

@Galyna This is from his journal:

“If with closed ears and eyes I consult consciousness for a moment, immediately are all walls and barriers dissipated, earth rolls from under me, and I float in the midst of an unknown and infinite sea, or else heave and swell like a vast ocean of thought, without rock or headland, where are all riddles solved, all straight lines making there their two ends to meet, eternity and space gambolling familiarly through my depths. I am from the beginning, knowing no end, no aim. No sun illumines me, for I dissolve all lesser lights in my own intenser and steadier light. I am a restful kernel in the magazine of the universe.

Men are constantly dinging in my ears their fair theories and plausible solutions of the universe, but ever there is no help, and I return again to my shoreless, islandless ocean.”

I think everything is said. There’s no way you can deny God for very long if you pay so close attention to nature as he did.

I recommend reading his work directly btw, not what others have said about him. Especially Walden and his journals… I can’t imagine a better waste of my time ;-)

On 06/02/2020 at 0:57 PM, loub said:

This is a job for @flume and her impressive collection of insightful and thorough Thoreau quotes.

STAHP