Philosophers

Ralph Waldo Emerson is rarely mentioned in within the topic of academic philosophy while some non-academic thinkers such as Nietzsche are frequently mentioned. Why hasn't Emerson had a lasting influence? Does he have any relevant contributions to philosophy?

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Actually Emerson sort of beat Nietzsche to the punch on one point. Nietzsche is famous for having proclaimed "God is dead," but Emerson came up with that line earlier. You are right that Emerson is not on everyone's list as an outstanding philosopher, though I bet that any anthology of American philosophy will include some of his work --probably his essay "Nature." Some philosophers have given him close attention. such as Stanley Cavell of Harvard University (incidently, the building that houses the philosophy department at Harvard is named after Emerson, Emerson Hall). I suspect that he has not had more influence due to the obscurity of some of his work (his transcendental idealism is very difficult to cleary state and assess) and the simplicity of his other work. By the latter, I am not being negative. Some of hessays like "The American Scholar" are simple but brilliant --that essay is a compelling statement of what it is to think independently and to give primacy to experience over against leaning too heavily on book learning. Some of his works have really given many the impression that Emerson is principally a literary figure (e.g. see his book Poems, published in 1846) or a philosopher for everyday life (e.g. Society and Solitude, 1870, The Conduct of Life, 1860). I think we need more such philosophy, personally. One of my professors at Harvard, Robert Nozick, could do the highly technical philosophy of his day (he died a few years ago) but, like Emerson, Nozick also wrote with great insight on everyday themes.

Maybe one way Emerson continues to be quite relevant is his influence on American education. He thought that each of us had some kind of inner good to contribute to the whole. I like to think of him as inspiring the dialogue format of education, though in this respect we would probably need to see Emerson as furthering Plato rather than being utterly original. In any case, I think Emerson is a terrific thinker and perhaps there will be a revival of transcendentalism in the 21st century

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