Henry David Thoreau Essay Example for Free

heat content David Thoreau Essay henry David Thoreau (1817 1862) was an American writer and philosopher famous for his rude(a)istic and anarchical ideas as well as his adherence to the movement of mysticism. Thoreau was a vegetarian, processively stood against slavery and struggle, and was angiotensin-converting enzyme of the first who supported Darwins theory of evolution. Among his humanityy kit and caboodle, the best known argon his essay, Civil Disobedience, a proclamation against unjustness and an urge for individual opposition to genteel government, and the book Walden, where Thoreaus reflects his personal experience of financial backing simple life in natural environment. Although these works, like many others of Thoreau, are considered transcendental and had been published ages agone, the ideas and concepts they contain may still at some point be link up to the issues we may face while living in the twenty-first century. In worldwide, the core of transcend ental vox populis is a faith into a perfect spiritual state of mind that transcends both verifiable and physical. It can more thanover be realized through the persons intuition, not through the doctrines of any existing religions. Therefore, it is quite a philosophy then a religion.The transcendentalism was makeed on principles that are transcendental, i. e.based not upon sensual experiences but upon inner feelings and empirical, spiritual essence of a gentle. (En. wikipedia. org) American transcendentalism was chief(prenominal)ly tyrannical in the first half of the 19th century, encouraging to abandon our mundane human beings, establish close family between human and personality, and to concentrate on ideal existence through spiritual abundance and self-reliance. Henry David Thoreau was admitted as a co-founder of this movement not only for his great thoughts on transcendentalism, but also for his empirical ideas and personal practice of his beliefs, which was greatly illustrated in his most famous book, Walden.The book firstly released as Walden, or Life in the Woods (1854) was later widely recognized as genius of the best non-fictional works of American authors. Living amidst woodland that belonged to R. W. Emerson, his friend and another founder of transcendentalism, near Concord, Massachu primpts, in the small plain self-built cabin, Thoreau mainly aimed to isolation from society for its better, more objective understanding. He stayed there alone for almost ii years but kept receiving and returning visits. For example, he often went to Emersons huse for mel and converstion.Moreover, as he indicates in the book, the cabin was located at the edge of town, not in the wilderness, even not far away from his family home. Therefore, he focuses readers attention on the richness of humans closeness to the nature, self-reliance and meditation. The book combines Thoreaus autobiography with a criticism of society, to wit American consumerism, phili stinism, and nature destruction, the issues still common in our century as well. Such experiment of cut-off living was do by Thoreau for special purposes.First, he tried to escape the negative effects of the Industrial rotation through keeping agrarian lifestyle. Interesting fact, the experiment was of a temporary character, and in the book Thoreau strongly advises his readers to avoid repeating it. Thus, anyone who studies Thoreaus works has to keep in mind that at some story they should be approached philosophically rather than understood literally. Second, the writer wanted to practically experience the main transcendental belief that every individual can transcend from normal to divine by means of nature itself.Like other members of the movement, in the Walden Thoreau, for example, speaks about Vedic concepts to illustrate his vision of the nature. I lay mess the book and go to my well for water, and lo There I meet the servant of Brahmin, priest of Brahma, and Vishnu, and Indra, who still sits in his temple of the Ganges reading the Vedas, or dwells at the root of a tree with his crust and water-jug. I meet his servant come to draw water for his master, and our buckets as it were grate together in the alike(p) well. The pure Walden water is mingled with the sacred water of the Ganges. (Thoreau 221)At some point, Thoreaus attempts to promote the ideals of transcendentalism may seem to be impractical and rather inapplicable. In fact, after an in-depth digest, Thoreaus ideals may even waitress infeasible, namely his appeals to ascetic way of living and refusal of common human needs. In the scope of critical thinking, impossibleness to follow the idea of living without any blessings of civilization is rather obvious. The average American who lives in the 21st century can hardly imagine him- or herself without Internet connection, using cell-phones, driving cars, or termination to supermarkets. Nevertheless, it is possible at certain degree.Moreover, due to global ecology problems, it even may become requirement for each of us to refuse some advantages of our daily welfare for the great purpose of saving the world from environmental catastrophe. For this reason Walden, as well as many other Thoreaus works, is frequently quoted by specialists who work in various fields and are concerned with the environmental problems of the Earth in general and in the USA in particular. While the whole issue of bad ecology becomes more and more crucial, Thoreaus idea of simple life in the forest turns out to be not as unsuitable as it seemed at first glance.It is important to mention that Thoreaus works on natural history is a great anticipation of findings and methods in the fields of ecology and the history of environment, which later became main sources of nowadays movement of environmentalism. In the book Earth Rising American Environmentalism in the 21st atomic number 6 we read that some 150 years ago, transcendentalist Henry David Thore au, sitting in his tiny cabin on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, was already mourning the loss of the wilderness and the debilitating effect of industrialism on the human spirit. (Shabecoff 16)Thoreau significant influence onto the entire concept of nature saving and conservation is unquestionable. In the get together States the movement expanded in the 1800s, out of concerns for protecting the natural resources of the West, with individuals such as John Muir and Henry David Thoreau making key philosophical contributions. Thoreau was interested in peoples relationship with nature and analyse this by living close to nature in a simple life. He published his experiences in the book Walden, which argues that people should become intimately close with nature.The conservationist principles as well as the belief in an inherent right of nature were to become the bedrock of modern environmentalism. The conservation movement is a political, fond and scientific movement that aims t o protect natural resources, including plant and animal species as well as their habitat for the future. Chiefly in the United States, conservation is seen as differing from environmentalism in that it seeks to preserve natural resources expressly for their continued sustainable use by humans.In other parts of the world conservation is apply more broadly to include the setting aside of natural areas and the active protection of wildlife for their inherent value. (En. wikipedia. org) Because of Thoreau and his associates public became truly concerned about the nature, the world we live in. He can definitely be called a pioneer ecologist. Numerous contemporary movements and organizations prove the actuality of environment problem and therefore significance of all Thoreaus works related to nature preservation.For example, his vision of the environmental issues in the 19th century became a ground for the book From Walden to Wall Street Frontiers of Conservation Finance written in the current times. Why do we invest in conservation? Why do human beings invest their time, energy and financial resources in protection of land, plants, and animals? We invest in conservation because it is an flavor of our faith in the future. Conservation investment is an expression of our faith in the future of natural systems that are essential to life on Earth.It is an expression of our faith in the future of deeply loved natural wonders. And it is an expression of faith in the future of our families and communities whose lives forget be immeasurably enriched by the living world that we are striving to sustain. (Levitt 3) Here is one more evidence on how outstanding were the Thoreaus works and what a great impact they made and still do. In Walden he included a famous aphorism that in wilderness is the preservation of the world.Thoreau kindled the Wilderness Religion that found fertile ground in America and provided a spiritual basis for conservation. In The Main Woods (1864) Thor eau called for the establishment of national forest preserves, helping to set the stage for the National Park movement. (Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature 6) Despite of the fact that Walden is considered by some critics a failed experiment, the issues raised in the book are still of current importance. As 21st-century people, for instance, we suffer of consumerism and globalization, with their negative honorable aspects.Thoreaus prophetic a contendeness of them is amazing, they are as relevant now, as they used to be in his century. He rejects consumerism, its adverse effect on society with its status stratification, and still teaches us lessons vital for our pick and progress. Another kind of ideas Thoreau often promoted in his works are related to anarchism and civil disobedience. Thus, let us shift our attention to this theme of Thoreaus writings and discuss how those fit in the American vantage point of the 21st century.In his disobedience to the American low of his times he was as prominent as in his attempts to bring humanity closer to the nature. He certainly was a key figure in the American radicalism. Disobedience was the main point in his endeavors to justif morl anrchism and to encourage each individual to act on the basis of their personal judgments, their personal opinion about the very justice rather than civil regulations. Unfortunately, Thoreau offers nothing instead and relies of his personal snse of justice, which is univrsal.Here is the historical background of the essay. Civil Disobedience is an analysis of the individuals relationship to the state that focuses on why men obey governmental integrity even when they believe it to be unjust. But Civil Disobedience is not an essay of abstract theory. It is Thoreaus extremely personal response to being imprisoned for breaking the faithfulness. Because he opposed slavery and because tax revenue revenues contributed to the support of it, Thoreau decided to become a tax rebel. He was arrest ed and imprisoned.It was short as a one night but has had enduring effect through the writing of Civil Disobedience which has exerted its powerful military force over time. (McElroy 2) In accordance with Thoreaus ideals, the government of his days was far from perfection due to Mexican-American war and slavery expanded in the US. Therefore, the essay was written as anti-slavery and anti-war protest soon after the wars beginning. Thoreau later wrote about governmental justice. If it is of such a nature that requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law.Let your life be a counter friction to stop he machine Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also prison. (Thoreau 259) In the essay the author urges American citizens to show their disagreement to government by passive disobedience without acts of power. Such form of protest was later used by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King who initiated movements fo r social changes. Thoreau was emphasizing the importance of acting upon the persons ethical and moral beliefs.According to Thoreau, unjust law exists shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we rive them at once? This urge to disobedience is in tune with the message of Walden. Those who are not genial with the society should not obey its norms, and neither wait until the norms are changed, nor until the majority joins them, but live check to their own believes. Personal values should be compared to the ones of the contemporary society, and unless they comply, stick the voice of sense of right and wrong.Thoreau also said that it be me less in every sense to incur the penalty of disobedience to the state, than it would to obey. I should feel as if I were worth less in that case. (Thoreau 258) In fact, many of the issues pinpointed by Thoreau 150 years ago have not yet been overcome by the American soci ety, and that strikes the most. He hated its slavish materialism as well as commercialism and believed that the state should never rank above the individual conscience or the business of living.But if the state demands a persons first allegiance by asking him to violate his conscience and participate in an injustice, the person should disobey not through violence but by removing his cooperation. (McElroy 3) Thoreau foresaw many issues typical to the modern American society. Over 150 years ago he predicted the crisis, spiritual and moral, that now corrodes it. The writer still begs us to slow down our hectic lives, to review our values, and to live in harmony with our consciences. He repeatedly talks about the possibility to establish a society where the justice is appreciated and the beauty of the nature is preserved.