“Of the Universal Mind Each Individual Is One More Incarnation”: An Individualist-Collectivist Approach to Reading Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Nature and “Self-Reliance”

Ralph Waldo Emerson is nowadays known as one of the foundational philosophers of individualism, mostly in the United States of America (though he has also influenced thoughts on individualism in Europe, e.g., Nietzsche). Common misinterpretations of Emerson’s self-reliance position him as promoting egocentric ideas of individualism. Examples of this can be found in the works of scholars Cary Wolfe (1993; 1994) and Myra Jehlen (1986). In this thesis I will examine the criticisms of Emerson and refute these by reading Emerson’s work through the lens of “individualism-collectivism”, as introduced by Wagner and Moch (1986). It is in this cooperation between the self and the other, the individual and the collective, that I will show Emerson can in fact be read as promoting collectivism alongside individualism. The introduction will give a brief overview of this thesis, including some background on critical scholars both within the field of literary analysis on Emerson, as well as...Show moreRalph Waldo Emerson is nowadays known as one of the foundational philosophers of individualism, mostly in the United States of America (though he has also influenced thoughts on individualism in Europe, e.g., Nietzsche). Common misinterpretations of Emerson’s self-reliance position him as promoting egocentric ideas of individualism. Examples of this can be found in the works of scholars Cary Wolfe (1993; 1994) and Myra Jehlen (1986). In this thesis I will examine the criticisms of Emerson and refute these by reading Emerson’s work through the lens of “individualism-collectivism”, as introduced by Wagner and Moch (1986). It is in this cooperation between the self and the other, the individual and the collective, that I will show Emerson can in fact be read as promoting collectivism alongside individualism. The introduction will give a brief overview of this thesis, including some background on critical scholars both within the field of literary analysis on Emerson, as well as providing the reader with some basic background information on individualism-collectivism-scholarship in philosophical and sociological research fields. Chapter one will focus on criticism of Nature and my reinterpretation of the essay where Emerson operates in the individualism-collectivist dimension. Chapter two will focus on “Self-Reliance” and how this truly individualist work can still be found to represent the collective in society. In the conclusion I will not only give the reader an overview of arguments made in this thesis, but also consider how this reading of Emerson can be relevant in contemporary society.Show less

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“Of the Universal Mind Each Individual Is One More Incarnation”: An Individualist-Collectivist Approach to Reading Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Nature and “Self-Reliance”