Henry David Thoreau: a Philosophical Reflection
Henry David Thoreau: A Philosophical Reflection
Henry David Thoreau was an inexhaustible writer that encompassed poetry and philosophy within his narratives and created a style of writing that, for his time, was difficult to define and categorize. Because of this his works were often overlooked for the genius that was held within them as writers of his time had already begun to stray from the traditional stances of philosophy. However, one can easily survey the works of Henry David Thoreau and do so with an immense amount of appreciation for his keen ability to contemplate and delve into the varied psyches and perspectives that man holds. And despite the difficulties in categorization it cannot be denied that Thoreau’s works were powerful and filled with brilliance. Thoreau wrote from a contemplative platform. He was not one who was frightened by solitude. Coined often as saying, “As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness, weakness.” He passionately held to the understanding that in order to embrace all the wonder and beauty that the world holds we as a people needed to slow down, to observe our surroundings and embrace all that is before us. And sometimes in order to do that, more often in order to do that, one needed to disconnect and detach from distractions and things that skewed one’s vision in order to do so. Thoreau held to the belief that, “our limited view often keeps us from appreciating the harmonious interdependence of all parts of the natural world: this is not due to “any confusion or irregularity in nature,” but because of our own incomplete knowledge.” This was just one of many excerpts taken from Thoreau’s work, Walden, that expressed his
belief that we have so much to gain by embracing more than our own perspectives as a singular perspective only sees from one vantage point. This particular work of Thoreau’s, Walden, really highlighted his
Henry David Thoreau was an inexhaustible writer that encompassed poetry and philosophy within his narratives and created a style of writing that, for his time, was difficult to define and categorize. Because of this his works were often overlooked for the genius that was held within them as writers of his time had already begun to stray from the traditional stances of philosophy. However, one can easily survey the works of Henry David Thoreau and do so with an immense amount of appreciation for his keen ability to contemplate and delve into the varied psyches and perspectives that man holds. And despite the difficulties in categorization it cannot be denied that Thoreau’s works were powerful and filled with brilliance. Thoreau wrote from a contemplative platform. He was not one who was frightened by solitude. Coined often as saying, “As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness, weakness.” He passionately held to the understanding that in order to embrace all the wonder and beauty that the world holds we as a people needed to slow down, to observe our surroundings and embrace all that is before us. And sometimes in order to do that, more often in order to do that, one needed to disconnect and detach from distractions and things that skewed one’s vision in order to do so. Thoreau held to the belief that, “our limited view often keeps us from appreciating the harmonious interdependence of all parts of the natural world: this is not due to “any confusion or irregularity in nature,” but because of our own incomplete knowledge.” This was just one of many excerpts taken from Thoreau’s work, Walden, that expressed his
belief that we have so much to gain by embracing more than our own perspectives as a singular perspective only sees from one vantage point. This particular work of Thoreau’s, Walden, really highlighted his
Cited: Susan Belasco, Linck Johnson. The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. Editor, Edward N. Zalta. “The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.” Henry David Thoreau Date Accessed: November 1, 2012 . Elizabeth Witherell, Editor-in-Chief, UC Santa Barbara Library. “The Writings of Henry David Thoreau Project.” Date Accessed: November 1, 2012 < http://thoreau.library.ucsb.edu/>.