It is remarkable how much the Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) book, "Walden" has imposed on this world. He expressed in many ways a utopia of the mind. He rejected the common desiderata of the day to conform and enjoy the fruits of industrialization. His book is considered a great work. And why not?
Thoreau was raised in affluence. He attended Harvard and did well. He studied natural and moral philosophy. He was familiar with Kant and Plato. He taught for a little while but concluded that when teaching one did not learn much. Unsatisfactory to him. He was eccentric, as considered by his colleagues.
Like Socrates, he sought the truth, an absolute truth. This has been a theme over the ages.
Redemption, a type of finding the truth, is a theme of our day. But can you can say if you have been saved, you are ok and on the true path?
Thoreau spoke against conformity in an age when the United States was feeling it muscle. It was moving to be the greatest nation on earth. His opinions conflicted with national views. Cities and products and railroads were booming artifacts of the day. You could, with newspapers, make an informed decision. This was the opinion of the day. Mankind was in control of nature; so it was believed.
He believed he could live the simple, independent, contemplative life. He wanted to disconnect. His view was that material possession bind us to the structure. At age of 28, he went to Walden pond near concord. Some, like Ralph Waldo Emerson, appreciated and encouraged his move. Like Socrates, he believed ideas were most important, and shaped everything. This was most unlike the pragmatism of the day - a belief in the transformative power of society and the nation over every eventuality. Yet he believed it necessary to be selfish, and asked the question, "How much do you need? A house and food." So, he built a cabin, and planted crops. He claimed fulfillment could be achieved by simply taking care of yourself. You were on your own, not on someone else's clock.
While in his cabin he continued to read but less and less. He contemplated (meditated), some days only on grass, some days on the sky, or on ice, or stars, or birds. More.
His questions: How do we get to wisdom? How do we reconcile ourselves with nature? To control it?
"Walden" is on the theme of the purity of nature. Modern mankind needs to control nature. Parks are there but are not sufficient to discover its lessons. Thoreau wanted to be controlled by nature - not to control. Nature is sacred, he believed, and we are a part of it.
He eventually regarded himself as a mystic and philosopher. He studied nature at Walden pond. He became a vegetarian by logical conclusion, and became a part of nature - his commitment. Like Socrates, he believed learning is the work of your life or should be. For Thoreau, the spring season time of renewal which he thought to be a mystical time. Many Greek works begin in the spring. Even Orwell's "1984" begins in the spring. Spring's renewal, he thought, illustrates all of God's works. It is a time of forgiveness - the freedom from others' transgressions.
Other thought he had gone daft, having lost the will for life. He countered them by saying it was just the opposite. He challenged his friends with the question "How many letters have transformed your life? That are worth the postage. That are worth your time? That are good for your soul?" So, reject them all. Stop getting mail.
His friends argued, we must be connected with what is our view - and through the news. But Thoreau rejected this, claiming the news years ago is almost identical with the news of the day, only with names changed. He claimed you become impure with too much daily living input.
After two years and two months at Walden, Thoreau learned some valuable lessons. He claimed, "Most of the luxuries and many of the so-called comforts of life are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind." It also is okay to contradict yourself and not to be afraid to do so. He believed he had other worlds to live with, other places to visit. I have the most uncharted world inside me. I have only begun to explore myself. All is within me to discover. Said Thoreau, "I never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude."
From the Bhagavad Gita: Every morning is new and fresh; every morning you can begin again. The sun is a morning star. Every morning you begin afresh.
Comment:
The lessons of "Walden" sound lofty and many are good lessons for us all. Yet for most, learning from "Walden" is not unlike studying quantum mechanics before taking even a basic course in physics. The lessons intoxicate the undergraduate and dreamer alike. They believe in this existential exploration of life through the power of the mind. For too many it is an exploration through an undisciplined and unlearned mind, with which there is little capacity to critically or simply reject the unworkable and the stupid. (But stupidity is one of mankind's few abilities apparently without limit.) Tribal members cannot live this way, nor can city-state members. Indeed, only the large state can allow the luxury of a very few to live in a totally protected environment, one paid for at the expense of others, to enjoy their "Walden" for a contemplative, explorative life. In fact, Thoreau rejected taxation while enjoying the services taxes afford. Even the hermit needs the social and political peace created and maintained by others to survive unfettered.
The connections between generations, centuries, ages, and epochs is what puts all of our current existence into perspective. It is though the similarity of the past, we can understand our almost identical present. It is done so through so-called institutional experience. It is the time-continuity of humanity. The variations are what we work with, but when something entirely new occurs we are ill-equipped to deal with it - according to history - and often fair poorly. It is why we study history; it is why we need history.
All of that said, our world today is one of total connectivity. Many claim, including this author, we are encumbered by too much connectivity what with Twitter, cell phones, FaceBook, blogs, countless news shows, newspapers, magazines, and more. So, we do need a Thoreau now and then to observe fundamentals we have missed or forgotten. However, "Walden" does not furnish a viable lifestyle for the many in any society.
Nonetheless, you must tip your hat to Thoreau. He had the courage to seek a personal wisdom and truth in an independent way.
Thoreau was raised in affluence. He attended Harvard and did well. He studied natural and moral philosophy. He was familiar with Kant and Plato. He taught for a little while but concluded that when teaching one did not learn much. Unsatisfactory to him. He was eccentric, as considered by his colleagues.
Like Socrates, he sought the truth, an absolute truth. This has been a theme over the ages.
Redemption, a type of finding the truth, is a theme of our day. But can you can say if you have been saved, you are ok and on the true path?
Thoreau spoke against conformity in an age when the United States was feeling it muscle. It was moving to be the greatest nation on earth. His opinions conflicted with national views. Cities and products and railroads were booming artifacts of the day. You could, with newspapers, make an informed decision. This was the opinion of the day. Mankind was in control of nature; so it was believed.
He believed he could live the simple, independent, contemplative life. He wanted to disconnect. His view was that material possession bind us to the structure. At age of 28, he went to Walden pond near concord. Some, like Ralph Waldo Emerson, appreciated and encouraged his move. Like Socrates, he believed ideas were most important, and shaped everything. This was most unlike the pragmatism of the day - a belief in the transformative power of society and the nation over every eventuality. Yet he believed it necessary to be selfish, and asked the question, "How much do you need? A house and food." So, he built a cabin, and planted crops. He claimed fulfillment could be achieved by simply taking care of yourself. You were on your own, not on someone else's clock.
While in his cabin he continued to read but less and less. He contemplated (meditated), some days only on grass, some days on the sky, or on ice, or stars, or birds. More.
His questions: How do we get to wisdom? How do we reconcile ourselves with nature? To control it?
"Walden" is on the theme of the purity of nature. Modern mankind needs to control nature. Parks are there but are not sufficient to discover its lessons. Thoreau wanted to be controlled by nature - not to control. Nature is sacred, he believed, and we are a part of it.
He eventually regarded himself as a mystic and philosopher. He studied nature at Walden pond. He became a vegetarian by logical conclusion, and became a part of nature - his commitment. Like Socrates, he believed learning is the work of your life or should be. For Thoreau, the spring season time of renewal which he thought to be a mystical time. Many Greek works begin in the spring. Even Orwell's "1984" begins in the spring. Spring's renewal, he thought, illustrates all of God's works. It is a time of forgiveness - the freedom from others' transgressions.
Other thought he had gone daft, having lost the will for life. He countered them by saying it was just the opposite. He challenged his friends with the question "How many letters have transformed your life? That are worth the postage. That are worth your time? That are good for your soul?" So, reject them all. Stop getting mail.
His friends argued, we must be connected with what is our view - and through the news. But Thoreau rejected this, claiming the news years ago is almost identical with the news of the day, only with names changed. He claimed you become impure with too much daily living input.
After two years and two months at Walden, Thoreau learned some valuable lessons. He claimed, "Most of the luxuries and many of the so-called comforts of life are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind." It also is okay to contradict yourself and not to be afraid to do so. He believed he had other worlds to live with, other places to visit. I have the most uncharted world inside me. I have only begun to explore myself. All is within me to discover. Said Thoreau, "I never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude."
From the Bhagavad Gita: Every morning is new and fresh; every morning you can begin again. The sun is a morning star. Every morning you begin afresh.
Comment:
The lessons of "Walden" sound lofty and many are good lessons for us all. Yet for most, learning from "Walden" is not unlike studying quantum mechanics before taking even a basic course in physics. The lessons intoxicate the undergraduate and dreamer alike. They believe in this existential exploration of life through the power of the mind. For too many it is an exploration through an undisciplined and unlearned mind, with which there is little capacity to critically or simply reject the unworkable and the stupid. (But stupidity is one of mankind's few abilities apparently without limit.) Tribal members cannot live this way, nor can city-state members. Indeed, only the large state can allow the luxury of a very few to live in a totally protected environment, one paid for at the expense of others, to enjoy their "Walden" for a contemplative, explorative life. In fact, Thoreau rejected taxation while enjoying the services taxes afford. Even the hermit needs the social and political peace created and maintained by others to survive unfettered.
The connections between generations, centuries, ages, and epochs is what puts all of our current existence into perspective. It is though the similarity of the past, we can understand our almost identical present. It is done so through so-called institutional experience. It is the time-continuity of humanity. The variations are what we work with, but when something entirely new occurs we are ill-equipped to deal with it - according to history - and often fair poorly. It is why we study history; it is why we need history.
All of that said, our world today is one of total connectivity. Many claim, including this author, we are encumbered by too much connectivity what with Twitter, cell phones, FaceBook, blogs, countless news shows, newspapers, magazines, and more. So, we do need a Thoreau now and then to observe fundamentals we have missed or forgotten. However, "Walden" does not furnish a viable lifestyle for the many in any society.
Nonetheless, you must tip your hat to Thoreau. He had the courage to seek a personal wisdom and truth in an independent way.
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