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Tiny House Living and Transcendentalism


This week's class will explore transcendentalism, Emerson, and Thoreau. But like most of the topics we've studied so far, we can find modern connections.

Transcendentalism was a religious movement that grew out of Romanticism between 1836-1860. We can define it as a spiritual, philosophical, literary movement with ties to the Unitarian Church around Boston.

Like Romanticism, this movement emphasized individual rights and inspiration, the latter, especially within nature. Transcendentalists believed that individuals can discover truth for themselves, rather than learning it through tradition.

It differs from Romanticism in that it focused on God. Transcendentalists believed that God was everywhere and could be discovered through intuition and that all people have a divine inner light. By accessing this light or intuition, they can transcend the ordinary and experience the spiritual.


The five tenets of Transcendentalism:
1. Nonconformity
2. Self-Reliance
3. Importance of Nature (finding God or enlightenment in nature)
4. Favoring Intuition over Reason
5. Simplified Life





               

For those of you interested in checking out the tiny houses inspired by the legacy of Thoreau and Emerson, here's a link to HGTV's Tiny House Movement gallery.

How else do you see the influences of Transcendentalism in modern culture?


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