Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self-Reliance"
Ralph Waldo Emerson, the author of "Self-Reliance", was a poet, an essayist, and a
lecturer. Emerson was born in Boston in 1803. He was a leader in the
American transcendentalism movement. Transcendentalists believed that all of humanity is
connected with nature and that humans are essentially good. Emerson was deeply influenced
by philosophers from Asia and the Middle East, and he often incorporated elements of non-
Western philosophy into his poems as well as his essays.
"Self-Reliance", Emerson's essay on the importance of individualism, was published in 1841
in a collection of titled Essays. In the essay, Emerson delves into the problems with society,
organized religion, and education. The antidote to these problems, according to Emerson, is
that each person be in touch with their inner-self.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was a leader in the
Transcendentalist movement in New England.
Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self-Reliance" presents the main ideas and principles of
transcendentalism.
Individuality
Emerson begins the essay with three epigraphs – one from Persius’ Satires translating as “Do
not seek outside yourself”, another from Beaumont and Fletcher that emphasises that a
person’s fate is not determined by his star – it is man who is his own star; and a third that
praises the ‘power and speed’ of a child raised in the wild of nature. The important themes of
the essay are cited in the three epigraphs – one encourages self-reliance, two celebrates
individuality and not fate as the determiner of one’s life; three encourages the reader to raise
children in harmony with nature, reflecting the transcendentalist belief that having a
relationship with nature is the path to connection with God.
Para 1: Read a poem and was stirred by its unconventionality. True art has this impact – the
sentiment they instil is of more value than the content – there is an admonition in the lines.
To place one’s thoughts to the world because of the belief that what is true for one is
universal is a sign of genius. However, most individuals do not pay attention to their intuition
and pay more attention to writers and philosophers. In every work of genius we recognize our
own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. Great works of
art teach us to pay attention to our intuition. It is a moment of shame when we see our
intuitive thoughts expressed to us by another.
Para 2: Every individual has the moment of education when he realises that envy is
ignorance, imitation is destructive, and he must accept himself as he is. Each person has to
perform the task set out for him, that is his share in the world – and he is uniquely
predisposed to certain tasks and certain predilections. However, we only half-express
ourselves and we need the courage to embrace what makes us unique. God gives insight only
to those brave enough to be himself and give his best.
Para 3: Emerson exhorts his fellow men to trust themselves. There is a force in every heart
that will direct one to the divine providence that places one in a specific age and space. Great
men have always recognized their place in the spirit of the age and have learnt from the
genius of the age as children would. We should accept our destiny in the world, because we
are not unworthy minors, but guides, redeemers and benefactors, placed here to fulfil some
divine providence.
Authenticity
Para 4: Emerson states that the universe has placed two perfect examples of how to approach
the world. Babies, children and even animals are intuitively aware of their emotions,
uninhibited by what others may think and are perfect examples of what it means to be self-
reliant. He considered children models of authenticity. They do not worry about whether or
not they will appear foolish or make mistakes. In their willingness to face the world with
exuberance, children experience things more fully than adults.
Para 5: He speaks of the nonchalance of boys unperturbed by positions or irreverent of power
as the healthy attitude of human nature. He compares the boy in the parlour to the pit in the
playhouse – independent, irresponsible, outspoken, judgemental, speaking without fear of
consequences. They have completer trust in themselves. But men are trapped in the jail of
their circumstances – watched and judged by some action or statement and ever desperate for
the approval or apprehensive of the rejection of the world. There is no river of forgetfulness
of Hades that makes the world forget men’s actions or sayings. It is easier to live life and
more formidable to do so by boldly announcing one’s position on all public affairs without
fear or favour.
Society
Para 6: When we are alone, we can be like the babies and boys and pay attention to our inner
voices. However, society represents the opposite of self-reliance. Society demands that
people behave in the same way and give up their personal freedoms in order to maintain
order. Society exerts its pressure on the individual, “society everywhere is in conspiracy
against the manhood of every one of its members.” He compares society to a ‘joint stock’
company in which the price of investment is one’s manhood or independence. The price is
what society sees as virtue – and what society most values as virtue is not creativity but
conformity. Society’s virtues are mere custom and deference to names.
Para 7: “Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist.” Anyone who wishes to be truly
great, must not be hindered by norms and customs and question for themselves if what is
deemed virtuous were really so. Nothing is sacred but the integrity of your own mind. The
sooner a person realises that, the sooner he will have the trust of the world. The only law that
is sacred is that of one’s own nature. Right and wrong are relative – names that are
transferable. The only right is what is correct for one self; the only wrong is that which is
against one’s nature. He believes that no person can impose rules or laws onto another
person. Each person must find their own moral code based on their truth.
He states that individuals conform to conventional morality even when it contradicts what
they intuitively know is the right course of action. Because of this tendency people are not
question as long as they espouse conventional morality. He attacks the espousal of abolition
(to end slavery) and need for charity that would have been unassailable in his social circle.
He states that he would carve ‘Whim’ on his door-post to assert his individualism – and he
expects not to be asked to explain his preferences. He declares that rather than capitulate to
the expectations of societal virtue, it would be better for people to take care of those for
whom they genuinely care for than engage in a charity that we do not believe in. Sometimes
he himself conforms to societal expectations of goodness, but he knowns that this is evil
because it does not arise from his own sense of right and wrong.
Para 8: Virtues, he says, are more the exception than the rule. Conventional morality is a toll
that an individual pays for belonging to society. He does not wish to make amends for being
part of the world – he wishes to live life to the fullest – genuinely and evenly, not as a
spectacle for society that is unsteady because it is not genuine. He would rather do right by
his own conscience even if it means he incurs the disapproval of society. What he lives for is
what his mind tells him is right, not what meets with the approval of society. He has a right to
live in this world and he does not intend to pay for it as if for a privilege with his actions.
Para 9: “What I must is do all that concerns me, not what the people think,” meaning that he
is not concerned with the appearance of goodness – he only cares about what he believes to
be right. This is true in practical living and thinking – but this is the difference between a
great and mediocre life. Living by such a rule is difficult, because there will always be
someone who thinks they know what is best for you. Living according to conventional
morality is easy when you live in the world, and living according to your own morality is
easy when living in solitude, but it takes an independent spirit who can live by his own
conscience within society.
Para 10: His primary objection to living one’s life on the basis of conventional morality is
that it obscures who that individual really is as a person. He behaves like a hired attorney or a
priest who can only argue for one side of the opinion. Furthermore, a person who lives by
conventional morality is completely predictable, and false to themselves in every way. After
a certain period our features and our responses become mechanical and predicated.
Para 11: For nonconformity, the world whips you with displeasure. So it would be to the
thinking person’s advantage to consider what the expressions of diappproval really mean. It
could mean nothing, since conventional people’s displeasure changes like the wind.
Displeasure from cultivated people is easy to brook and deal with since it is genteel in
expression, but dealing with the disapproval of the common mob is difficult, because it is
forcefully expressed. Therefore, it requires the strength of magnanimity and spirit to treat it as
a trifle of no consequence.
Consistency:
Para 12-13: The second thing that prevents trust in oneself is the mistaken idea that
consistency is a virtue. Some people worry that if they change their mind about something,
others will think they are inconsistent. We live by our previous actions and words because
people judge us by them and we are loath to go against them. Emerson warns that this is a
foolish reason for not changing one's mind. The past should not be at the center of the
present. This is a ‘corpse of memory’ that we drag around every day. We lose nothing by
contradicting it. The self-reliant individual should not care for memory and simply live in the
present moment.
Para 14: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen
and philosophers and divines” He declares that a great soul should have nothing to do with
the ideal of consistency. It is important to always seek the truth. As people seek the truth,
their beliefs will inevitably change. The fear that one will be misunderstood is no excuse for
not speaking one's truth. Individual should freely contradict themselves even if they are
misunderstood. Emerson notes that all the people we consider great thinkers now
(Pythagoras, Socrates, Jesus, Luther, Copernicus, Galilieo, Newton) were misunderstood in
their own day.
Para 15: Human nature cannot be violated. It has its own natural consistency – so it is
impossible for a man to do anything against his own nature, as long as the person is honest
with themselves. The contradictions and whims of his action will be bound as part of a
harmonious character and that will be seen as uniform when we consider his entire life, and
not from moment to moment. Just as Andes and the Himalayas might look unequal up close,
but look uniform when observed from a distance. Human nature is like an acrostic which can
be read forward, backward or across but spells the same. Similarly, he can record all that he
feels from day to day with all the different notes of life but eventually they will seem
symmetrical with his character. Eventually our character is seen above our overt actions.
Virtue and vice are observable not only in obvious action, but in every moment of our being.
Para 16: No matter what the variety of actions we perform there will eventually be a
harmoniousness to it as long as they are honest and natural in their hour. One’s character and
disposition unites them all. He also compares human nature with the zigzagging course of a
ship that, seen on the large scale, sticks to a path that brings it to its final destination. One
genuine action will explain itself as well as other genuine actions. Persistence in living
according to one’s own conscience will always bring a person to the right course of action,
and the impact of such actions is cumulative. The majesty of great men is the consciousness
of great independent actions and strength of character in the actions behind. Honour is
venerated because it is not momentary – it is an ancient virtue.
Para 17: Emerson’s wish for his age is that people eventually realise how ridiculous
consistency and conformity are. Conformity to society should be actively opposed – and he
wishes to make humanity more honest than he wishes to make it kind. He condemns the
modern mediocrity and contentment of his age and wishes to challenge custom and position
with the thought with the result of all history – there is a great responsible Thinker and Actor
in the work of every true man. He does not belong to a time or place, but becomes the centre
of things. He is such that he eventually is not bound by time, space or circumstance – and
posterity follows him. Seen in great men like Caesar who built the Roman Empire, Christ
who founded Christianity, Luther who ushered in the Reformation etc. History is but the
biography of a few true and earnest men.
Para 18: Men should know their worth and trust that their intuition and judgement are equal
to anyone else’s. An ordinary man might feel that they are insignificant, and that great
architecture or literature or art are forbidding. But he must understand that his perception and
judgement are as valid as anyone else’s and the picture awaits his verdict – it is he that must
settle its worthiness, not vice versa. The story of a drunk who was treated as a duke and then
behaved with all its regality and wisdom, is a metaphor for the man in the world – who is
oblivious to his worth and occasionally wakens to exercise his instinct and reason and finds
himself a true prince.
Para 19: Out reading is sycophantic and beseeching. We pay attention to power and position
without realizing that as far as life is concerned the actions of all people are equally
important. Kings and dukes do not wear out virtues or talents. When a self-reliant individual
acts with original views, the grandeur should be with him, not with those in power.
Para 20: Similarly, we must understand that the reverence we give those in power – kings,
nobles etc. – this joyful loyalty is because the king or the noble or the great man walk among
us by a “law of his own” – he makes his own decisions, performs original actions,
irrespective of what others think. They signified the consciousness of their own rights. This
magnetism they exert, this reverence and honour is due to every man.
Para 21: The magnetism of those who perform original actions is explained when we find the
source of their self-trust. What is the basis of that self-trust which draws people’s admiration
in the same way a star would? The source is the essence of genius, virtue and life –
spontaneity or instinct. This primary wisdom is called intuition, while all later teachings are
tuitions. This is a deep force beyond which analysis cannot go – it has its source from where
life proceeds, from the very source of existence. This is the fountain of action and thought,
this is the sustainer of inspiration and source of wisdom. We recognise intuition in moments
of self-reflection – ‘calm hours’ that reveal the underlying unity of everything. Soul, space,
time and light are unified because they are all from the same source. We forge this merely
from seeing appearances, but in truth we “lie in the lap of immense intelligence, which makes
us receivers of its truth and organs of its activity.” Everything in existence can serve as a
source of truth, and our ability to perceive justice and truth are really just the universe
expressing reality through us. Emerson distinguishes theses perceptions from intellectual
notions of our experiences by noting that perceptions are involuntary and spontaneous (thus
worthy of our trust), while intellectual notions – voluntary acts of the mind – are the result of
an individual’s conscious choice (and less likely to be worthy of our complete trust). Our
conscious actions are erratic, the idlest reverie, the faintest spontaneous emotion is worthy of
respect.
Para 22: The ability to tap into the underlying unity of existence—God, in this case—through
perception means that people should never allow anything to get in the way of that
perception. Therefore, anyone who insists that the individual should turn to conventional
means of understanding the divine—“means, temples, text, teachers”—should be dismissed
out of hand. When the mind is simple and receives the divine wisdom, all these things of the
past are meaningless when it comes to the soul perceiving.
Para 23 - 24: Rather than timidly looking to the past, individuals would be better off looking
to nature to understand how to move through the world. The blade of grass, the rose bud, the
leaf bud, and the root are all complete without reference to others of their kind, and they live
always in the present. People, on the other hand, continually look to the past or the future
instead of living in the moment and perceiving the universe all around them. The individual
will never achieve happiness unless they also live only in the present and reject the notion of
time. This approach should be completely obvious, but conventional morality leads people to
instead turn to some authority outside of themselves, such as the apostles who wrote the
Christian scriptures instead of looking within and listening to the word of God. Like children
we repeat by rote the word of our elders and tutors, and afterwards the words of writers and
thinkers, and when we come around to these opinions we use words of our own to repeat their
ideas. If we live truly, we shall see truly. When we have perception, we can disburden
memory and live with God.
Para 24: Whatever he says about the subject of self-reliance, the highest truth cannot be
articulated – what we say is only a remembering of the source of all our wisdom and insight -
intuition. The vision we have does not come from conventional knowledge or experience; it
takes us away from society, fear, and even hope lies beneath it. The intuition which properly
belongs to the soul perceives the self-existence of Truth and Right. Each person is ultimately
responsible for discovering what morality is for themselves. The moment when each
individual discovers their own sense of morality will be one of transcendence, “above
passion,” beyond time, and more expansive than the “vast spaces of nature.”
Para 25: Society hates that moment of transcendence because it upsets traditional hierarchies
and conventional notions of morality. This ultimate form of self-reliance, “eminent virtue,” is
extremely powerful and it allows individuals or groups of individuals who possess it to
overrule the arbitrary powers that currently dominate society.
Para 26 - 27: According to Emerson, self-existence or self-reliance is the attribute of the
Supreme Cause and can be seen even in lower forms. He respects even ordinary experiences
—"Hardship, husbandry, hunting, whaling, war, eloquence, personal weight”—because they
are a little closer to that notion of virtue of self-reliance than conventional morality, and he
sees the same “principle of conservation and growth” at work in nature. Everything in nature,
in fact, reflects self-reliance. In nature, power is the measure of right. Nature expels anything
which cannot survive by itself. Emerson believes that with an understanding of the supreme
importance of self-reliance as virtue, the individual can confidently dismiss conventional
morality, engage with God by staying at home rather than looking elsewhere, and live a life
of simplicity that is worth much more than traditional notions of what is good.
Para 28: However, far from living a life of simplicity and inner riches or communicating with
our inner beings, man turns to society to give him a paltry amount of the rich insight he
could’ve had himself. Solitude (especially spiritual solitude) provides the best chance of an
individual achieving self-reliance. Men must maintain this elevated state, without assuming
the falseness and flaws of others or by being drawn to the trifles and confusion of the world.
Para 29: If the individual cannot maintain that state, then at a minimum, Emerson believes
they can still call out falseness wherever they see it, even if that means hurting or
disappointing those who are closest to them; the obviousness of the individual’s virtue will
eventually bring others around.
Para 30-31: The self-reliant individual will also experience blow-back from society which
will accuse the individual of embracing a complete lack of all morals. Emerson responds to
this possible accusation by pointing out that the self-reliant individual can absolve themselves
of guilt by making sure they have met responsibilities to those closest to them, or, if those
responsibilities do not accord with that individual’s notions of morality, by dismissing such
concerns out of hand. This sounds easy, but it is not, says Emerson, since it “demands
something god-like” to face down the mandates of conventional morality and society.
Para 32: Looking at the prospect of the current day society, one sees the need of these ethics
– the self-reliant unconventional morality. The age is one governed by fear, one that has
produced no truly great people, one in which man does not chose for himself, but lives by the
values and customs of others. Men have forgotten to battle with their fate and thus do not
garner the strength that emanates from the fight.
Para 33: One can see this weakness of young men from American cities — the “city dolls”—
who quit when confronted with any failure or setback in their pursuit of respected
professions. Emerson instead admires “the sturdy lad from Vermont or New Hampshire” who
tries his hand at all of the ordinary pursuits, and, grounded in a sense of self-trust and rugged
individualism, rejects conventional sources of authority—it is he who builds the nation.
Emerson believes such men to be worthy of our admiration, since they are the ones making
history. There should be greater self-reliance to work a revolution in many aspects of life:
religion, education, occupation, modes of living, society, property, and opinions.
Emerson then moves to offer specific applications of self-reliance on a societal scale. He
believes that self-reliance as a way of life can be applied to many elements of contemporary
society which is desperately in need of reform.
Para 34: 1. Religion, which emphasizes appeals to something outside of the self for
assistance, could instead become something that makes people more capable. Prayer as a
means to achieve a private goal is meanness and presumes a dualism in nature and
consciousness. As soon as man is one with god, he will not plead for private gain, but will see
prayer in all action. A greater trust in the individual would end the hold outdated religions
and philosophies have on morality.
Para 35: Another false prayer is regret – discontent is the want of self-reliance. Regret
should be practiced only if that leads to help for the sufferer, otherwise one should
disregard sympathy and offer the truth and work to put suffering aright. A self-reliant
man is highly regarded but he does not care for the approval of the multitudes.
Para 36: Just as men’s prayers show poor will, their creeds show weak intellect. Men
are afraid to approach god directly, and turn to various creeds and systems as if they
were an end in themselves and not a speedily disposable means to an end. The
classification of different sects is idolized and in its pursuit do not see the truth of the
immortal light.
Para 37-39: 2. Emerson also argues that self-reliance could have an impact on American
culture as a whole. He speaks about the lack of self culture that makes one fetishize travelling
to ‘cultured’ places. It was by staying in their own place that the people of ‘cultured’ lands
made their lands desirable. A self-reliant man travels for necessity, duty, study, or
entertainment. But in these cases, he travels with the confidence of his own wisdom and does
not go hoping to find something greater than his own instinctive knowledge. If he tries to find
solace in distant lands, he will be disappointed because ‘travelling is a fool’s paradise’. Places
are indifferent to people – we find that eventually no place can help us out of the confusions
of our mind. People should not look to other lands to fulfill what they are missing in their
own homes. If they are seeking something, they will not find it by leaving home. People must
solve their problems first in order to experience and enjoy other places.
Para 40: 3. The practice of travelling to foreign lands is a symptom of a weakness of the
intellect. The current system of education fosters restlessness and dissatisfaction. The
tendency to imitate foreign cultures should be discouraged because art is created in response
to and suited to a particular environment. Rather than traveling abroad to become cultured in
the traditional sense, Americans should turn towards home and use what they find there to
create their own culture.
Para 41: Insist on yourself; never imitate. A man can give completely of his own gifts
backed by a lifetime of his experience, but he can only half-possess that imitated
talent of another. We must learn from ourselves, our intuition what we are best at. No
great artist, inventor, philosopher, or writer ever became great through imitation. No
one else can show us our own greatness. Live simply and follow your heart and you
will achieve greatness.
Para 42 - 43: 4. Similarly, we also look to improve society, just like our religion, education,
and art look outside themselves for improvement. Americans should also as a nation reject
the idea that society is somehow supposed to progress across time. A more self-reliant nation
would understand that traditional notions of progress are misreadings of the stops and starts
that are common across all human history. Society does not ever really progress—what we
normally call progress, like technology, really just weakens us.
Para 44: Moral standard does not deviate with time. There are no greater men in this
age than in ages before, and there is an equality between geniuses of art, religion,
science and art in all ages. Races do not progress with time. What is true of all genius
is that they are all self-reliant, independent and carved their own path. The technology
of every age do not invigorate men – great men of the past have accomplished their
wonderous feats with the most basic of appliances. The great genius returns to the
essential man – who exists in everyone with self-reliance.
Para 46-48: The mania for basing our identities on what we own must stop, and people
should instead understand that the truly valuable part of any person is their individuality.
Finally, the growth of political parties and regional identities should also cease. People
should instead simply govern themselves by individual intuition.
