Transcendentalism

One thing I find very unique is the philosophy of Transcendentalism. I have been in many situations where I just wanted to give up on everything and everyone. A couple years ago when my cousin/best friend moved to Indiana, it was a very difficult time for me and that’s when Transcendentalism stepped into the picture. I needed to just get away from society. I would go into an old tree house I found in the middle of the woods, out there my mind was clear and I felt very peaceful. I was connecting with myself and my natural surroundings. For this project i designed a mask that represented Transcendentalism. I painted on a river and a tree, i think this signifies peace, tranquility and nature. The road on the mask signifies traveling by your own means.

 The philosophy of Transcendentalism can be interpreted in different ways; one way people may look at it would be acting without direction, abandoning all reason. Another way would be a very enlightening way, going back to how it all began and surviving by the skills you were born with. People would find this enlightening because society has become very corrupted and connecting with nature is a way of getting away from all of that. This philosophy can be put into effect in different ways, some take it to the fullest extent and abandon society and live by themselves. In the movie “Into the Wild” the main character, Alexander Supertramp took it to the fullest extent. He left his home and traveled the world by his own means and depended on only himself. In result it took his life, right before he died he realized “happiness is only real when shared.” I believe he lived a very full life and was content, although his wisdom misled him. Another way Transcendentalism can be interpreted would be taking a few minutes or even hours to just get away from society, like I did with my tree house in the woods.     

What I think is the most enlightening part of this philosophy is the ability to think and act for yourself. Therefore the only person you have to look out for is yourself. This may seem selfish but the way I see it is that you are responsible for your own happiness. “Every man for himself” for example, in life we only have ourselves in the end which means we all die alone. Transcendentalism is a good way of realizing that.  Some ways people can interpret it negatively could be by the saying, “fallowing your wisdom until it misleads you”. Like Alexander Supertramp, he regretted his choices in the end. Some people could take this philosophy and regret the outcome if taken to the fullest extent. This could be a very dangerous philosophy if interpreted the wrong way but when done right it could be very enlightening.                                                                                                            

   Personally I think this philosophy is very enlightening and I’m sure many people can agree. It helped me through some difficult times by helping me find peace. It may be dangerous but when done correctly I think it can be very helpful. I would suggest including some form of Transcendentalism in your life because it could affect you in a very positive way.

Reflections On Enightenment Project

1. One thing i would do differently if i did this project over again would be using my time more productively. I believe i could of taken more time to revise the essay and paint the enightenment mask more realistically.

2. Some advise that i would give to another student on a project as open as this one would be to use your time productively. Have a good idea on what your doing before you start the project and make sure that you don't "bite off more then you can chew" in other words, choose a reasonable project for the amount of time you are given.

3. I think that a teachers opinion on my final project would be a positive one overall because my final product was well thought out and creative. I took a lot of time to connect with my essay and thought it connected well with my philosophy.

4. One thing i learned about Transcendentalist Elightenment would be that it can be interprited in many different ways and also that there are many different forms of this philosophy and everyone has thier own form of it.