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On a Sunday evening in July of 1838, Ralph Waldo Emerson addressed the graduating class of Harvard’s Divinity College with a revolutionary proclamation. That being the autonomous role that individual experience ought to play in guiding one’s religious choices and sensibilities. Emerson’s legacy in particular, and Transcendentalism in general, have since become profuse sources of inspiration in American literary thought. Interestingly, it would be Emerson’s godson, William James, who would later develop this new point of orientation to the study of religion(s) and religious phenomena into a comprehensive psychological examination of human nature. As such, James’ ‘The Varieties of Religious Experience’ will function as the principal text for this seminar. Our genealogy of Transcendentalism will then conclude with John Dewey’s investigation in ‘A Common Faith’ to find a shared ground for religious belief that is “not confined to sect, class, or race”, but is instead linked to humanity as a whole.
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Ralph Waldo Emerson, An Address Delivered Before the Senior Class of Divinity College. William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience. John Dewey, A Common Faith |
