What is Nature? | Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Nature”

In 1837, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote “Nature”, an essay that pays respect to nature and the individuals within it. The text starts out by showing Emerson’s intent to break away from traditions and philosophies of the past in order to look to the future and create for himself. He then goes on to define nature both in a philosophical sense and in a more common sense.
After definitions, Emerson discusses the four “uses” of nature: commodity, beauty, language, and discipline. Commodity refers to natures ability to meet our material needs. Beauty is divided up into three aspects which focus on perception, nature’s relationship to human action, and the totality of nature. Language discusses how the words are used to describe nature, but nature is a symbol of spirit. Finally, discipline refers to the incredible learning opportunities that nature can bring us. #philosophy #emerson #nature

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[evanwalton]

Thank you for the summary! I am a current MA English Literature student and this video helped immensely.

[jthewei]

Good Breakdown. I remember one of my philosophical teachers in HS saying that everything that exists is nature lol

[TheLivingPhilosophy]

This was awesome! Despite being a massive fan of his essays I've never actually read Nature so you had me from the off (and of course I almost choked on my porridge when I saw my own video come up). Great job on the breakdown this is something I always intend doing with essays like really dissecting the structure (I remember I read this book called How to Read a Book that talked about this this but I always bombed at it whenever I tried).

There's this American (kind of New Age-y) philosopher Ken Wilber who writes a lot about Emerson (epecially in his book Sex Ecology Spirituality) and it kind of clarified this stuff around the spirit for me a bit. I think you are actually pretty on point here with the comparison with Spinoza and Daoism. Emerson was exploring a lot of Eastern thinking particularly Hindu thinking so that was feeding into his worldview and I think that this Spirit thing ties in with the proposition at the end of Beauty of seeing Beauty as the intellectual thing. I think it's about beauty as being the gateway to the Spirit (through Reason I guess). Anyway great video as ever and looking forward to part 2!

[faithrenee]

Have to read this, as well as self-reliance and some of Thoreau's stuff for my American Lit class. This saved me from a massive headache

[csblacksmile]

The transparent eyeball reminds me of 'On having no head'. It's a short to the point book that describes how to have the direct experience of 'becoming one with nature' as its framed here.

[heather_hill_HHH]

wheeeer's Waldo??



here he is!!

[Hereticbliss]

Well done. Completely stumbled on this by accident. What a pleasant surprise.

[GenericTheDouchebag]

Currently studying nature in my lit college class rn, and you also have rich Brian as your intro theme for your vid? I'm totally following you along from now on

[ampvoltage]

You have some really good stuff very thorough

[itsawonderfullife]

Good video. IMHO the ultimate discourse on beauty is, however, Plato's Symposium. Also it helps to clear much of what Emerson says here.

To me, the "3rd aspect of beauty" you refer to, sounds like fascination with the all important idea of SYMMETRY; which is also at the core of fundamental (particle) physics as well as many schools of philosophy (Neo-Platonism, Gnosticism, etc.): Symmetries of the universe and how "the many" come forth from "the One". To me, it is also seems related to the idea of Platonic Forms.

[heather_hill_HHH]

I think humans have a bit of fuzzyness or inaccuracy when it comes to the word nature. they tend to confuse the wild and or artificial world they inhabit (rivers, buildings, trees, animals etc), with the meaning "nature". The word Nature in my opinion means the dynamic of reasons why things manifest the way they do, the way things come about, the way things are. Reasons, no-reason/space, how forms come into being through processes of formation, the characteristics of things as they exist in conditions and the world. the processes and nature of change. the elemental world's dynamics. the way creatures evolve, behave and their motivations and reason for living. you get me?

[karimkimmu]

If you only provided us with the sources and page numbers of the quotes that u used

[antoniovittorio]

Yes, NATURE symbolizes the SPIRIT or "I". So, "I" is not a product but the creator.NATURE or that which appears to the observer, pre-supposes a timeless IMAGINARY power that conceives and creates all, both the things, including human bodies, and the laws governing their dynamics. This timeless imaginary power describes and creates things that constitute Nature but cannot be described, it can only be perceived.

[AWC]

i'm being forced under my will to watch this. send help


it's for a class.

[shelleyharris]

Good stuff 😊 oh it's 1:23 💐🐝🦋🦌🌞🌛🙏🍯🪽🤓🦉🕊️🎼🤓😇💋💗🌎😎✌️