Self-reliance: Ralph Waldo Emerson

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July 13 , 2010

The Conflicting and Satirical Views of Self-reliance ' by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Self-reliance is an admirable philosophy in life , because it asserts the importance of being responsible for one 's conduct and decisions in life . However , several texts have shown how self-reliance can be defined and interpreted in diverse and , even , conflicting ways . In Ralph Waldo Emerson 's Self-Reliance ' the author asks the readers to : Trust thyself : every heart vibrates to that iron string (Emerson , 333 . In this text , Emerson argues that self-reliance refers to

absolutely trusting one 's ideas and beliefs , instead of relying on others , most especially the powerful social institutions that aim to bind people into the same mold . Emerson 's idea of self-reliance relatively matches self-reliance in Jonathan Edwards ' A Divine and Supernatural Light wherein Winthrop defines self-reliance as critical to understanding God On the other hand , in Walden ' Henry David Thoreau applies self-reliance through social and economic isolation , while Herman Melville satirizes the absurdity of mental , physical , and social self-reliance in his story , Bartleby the Scrivener

Emerson 's Self-Reliance ' argues that the real geniuses depend on their own thoughts and beliefs in formulating their own convictions To believe your own thought , to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men , that is genius ' This is why Emerson also believed that self-reliance depends on utterly trusting oneself , and not envying what other people think of or believe in . In order to trust oneself , Emerson...