Emerson’s Argument for Self-reliance as a Significant Factor in a Flourishing Life

This essay explores Emerson’s reflections on self-reliance with particular reference to Emerson’s understanding of the concept of self-reliance, his view of ‘conformity’ as the major obstacle to self-reliance, and the moral significance of his thought. The essay is based on the premise that Emerson’s philosophy of self-reliance, self-reference and self-responsibility has a relevance and an application to our contemporary lives which are often conducted through subtle shades of compliance and acquiescence to popular opinion and prevailing fashions of thought and behaviour. Ralph Waldo Emerson is remembered as a fine essayist, poet and philosopher of the nineteenth century, but he was a radical and original thinker who, perhaps, defies conventional classification and description. His writings explore a vast array of topics including education, culture, politics, freedom, love, poetry, society, solitude and personal integrity and happiness. However, underlying all the writings of Emerson is his positive commitment to individual autonomy, in thought and in action, and despite ample evidence of evil, cowardice and deception in the world which he experienced, he maintained a firm belief in the intrinsic goodness of his fellow-men and women. He accepted that many of his convictions and ideas could not perhaps be proved scientifically, perhaps could not be adequately expressed in words, and perhaps could easily be refuted by critical materialism and pragmatic realism. Consequently, reaction to Emerson’s work continues to fluctuate between various assertions of its radical and inspirational qualities and critical charges relating to what is deemed Emerson’s easy embrace of contradiction and dualism and his failure to deal with the problem of evil in the human world. Emerson’s philosophy is one of optimism and hope, it is based as much on intuition as it is on logic or reason, and it is idealistic in its validation of the inherent worth of each individual form of existence. Emerson’s commitment to individualism, to personal freedom and * Independent philosopher and writer, 7 Rivers, Castletroy, Limerick, Ireland.