Emerson and the Transcendentalists emphasize that every person has personal access to the Truth if one seeks it. They argue that the Truth is not found in the words of philosophers or religious leaders, but only in each individual’s heart. He says, “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.” Is there a downside to this unfailing belief in one’s own personal intuition? Are there times when one should seek the wisdom of authorities over personal intuition? Should a person consider what other people (including authorities, philosophers, scientists, religious leaders, etc) think in formulating opinions and beliefs, or should geniuses expect to be misunderstood and push forward regardless of others’ opinions?
Are there times when one should seek the wisdom of authorities over personal intuition?
ReplyDeleteYes. People should always listen to the others opinions and decide whether or not to take their advice. But I think that when people listen to others too much they loose themselves.
-asmigelsky
I think when people are searching for whatever truth they are looking for,they should look personally. Every person is different and one shouldn't look to others for beliefs. The point of having beliefs is listening to your self.
ReplyDeleteSue
I feel like sometimes everyone needs some sort of direction, be it from an authority or just a friend. You can;t always know what to do to achieve an inner understanding. To really find yourself use others thoughts and opinions to build yourself and your inner image based on what you take from those other opinions.
ReplyDelete-laxchickie
This reminds me of the AP practice prompt about freedom of speech. Without hearing other people's opinions, we are blind to the valid points that they have to share. We need to hear other people's thoughts, not because it's the law, but because it betters our own understanding.
ReplyDelete-Yellow Rose
"To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart ".
ReplyDeleteThis can be a downfall. Not only because people can believe their own lies, but because being misunderstood can typically be justified.
We should take in consideration others thoughts, but without the wisdom of others it's harder for one to grow as a person and formulate opinions if they haven't been exposed to every view point.
-cheers
I personally believe that people should seek knowledge of others, and adapt their schemas to incorporate knowledge of others and not be completely self dependent. It leads to ignorance. Everyone has a unique perspective to offer, which explains the concept of "group think". --
ReplyDeleteI really think that we can become better people if we listen to others. Just because we do something that someone else says doesn't mean that we aren't just conforming. Sometimes there are really good reasons to listen to other people because other people might know more about an issue than we do. Before we form an opinion we should listen to what other people say. So in that sense we become more people rather than "losing ourselves" through listening.
ReplyDelete- Zaphod Beeblebrox
This reminds me of the article we read during our practice AP test that talked about how we need other people's opinions in order to have our own opinions. I both agree and disagree with this. It's better to trust your own instincts about life choices but if you take insight from others you may or may not have a chance of making a better choice for yourself.
ReplyDeleteI agree with smigelsky. You should keep an open mind concerning others opinions because they are following their own personal intuition (emmerson would hope) so it is combining the thoughts and personal instinct that could allow them to come to a better choice.
ReplyDelete-Shinnanigans
I think that while one should search for truth internally and be confident with his/her own thoughts or perspectives, it is also necessary to have some influence from other's beliefs in order that we can fully develop our own. This doesn't mean that we have to heed the advice or others, but can use it to strenghten or reevaluate our own beliefs.
ReplyDeleteBecky
I think it's very valuable to listen to others to formulate our own opinions. Like the essay on free speech said, other's opinions are needed to form our own.
ReplyDeleteOrangutan
I agree with that statement. I believe that you should create your own thoughts, but if you get get stuck you should be able to recieve other peoples opinions and go from there.
ReplyDeleteI think that people grow much more if they learn from other people. You can only learn so much from being alone. Other people have different perspectives that you might not reach by yourself.
ReplyDeleteAnita Goodman
If you only rely on yourself your thoughts and direction can become blurred. Everyone gets frustrated and stressed out sometimes and when that happens it's really hard to come back to that place of inner self. When you are able to talk to someone outside and let them help you relax and come back to a place of peace it helps. It's a lot easier to go on a journey with company rather then by yourself.
ReplyDelete-laxchickie
I have to agree with wild.jumble.of.scary.gibberish you should trust you instinct but in some cases that can only take you so far. And when you get opinions from others you might be able to formulate a better opinion on your behalf.
ReplyDeleteIt's really a fine line between listenign to yourself and listening to others. For example, by not listening to others, one can "reinvent the wheel" instead of making further advances in thought. Others' experiences can greatly assist us. Finding everything within could be possible, but one could get farther by listening to elders and peers.
ReplyDeleteFord Prefect
I feel like there is definitely a downside to only listening to your personal intuition. You never gain insight from anyone else. I personally don't feel that I know enough about some things to trust my own intuition about everything.
ReplyDeleteUp and Over
In trancendentalism there is nothing wrong with unfailing beleif in yourself because it would all lead to the same end, however the idea of enlightenment in this way seems very abstract and unreachable. The more reachable path seems to be learning from others.
ReplyDelete-leo
I think looking to yourself is the most important thing you can do when trying to come up with opinions or ideas but it is also important to hear others' opinions and ideas for you to expand how you think and interpret what goes on in your life.
ReplyDeleteHasty "G"
Sue-
ReplyDeleteThe point of having beliefs is not just listening to your self, but being willing to take into account of how your beliefs affect those around you. If everyone believed as you did, slavery and child labor would still be in practice today.
-asmigelsky
Yes, I would say that there is a downside to this unfailing belief in one's own personal intuition. If every person solely relies on their own thoughts and never takes into account anything else, then people could begin to have really misconstrued conceptions. This would mean that there are times that a person should seek the wisdom of authorities over personal intuition. For example, I believe that in the instance of religion that one should submit to higher ruling over one's own personal "laws". In choosing who to follow, one needs to be cautious and do thorough research before just accepting what someone else is saying. For example, in political elections, someone shouldn't vote because of a candidate's surface level attributes. Instead, they should vote for that person based on their beliefs, morals, and overall deeper thinking.
ReplyDelete~FlowerPower
Isnt even considering the philosophy following at least one other philosophers ideas anyway? If you are pushing forward without considering others opinions you are creating the barrier for progress, to be misunderstood is useless without seeking to be understood-which cant be done in words.
ReplyDelete-leo
I believe that when you are forming your own personal beliefs and ideas you should look to authorities and see their examples and then follow your heart as to how you will react to those examples. Every person is a unique combination of every person that has affected their lives and how they have changed because of it.
ReplyDelete-*67
Alex, I agree that sometimes we have to be conformist. But it's all to an extent. There's a reason communism doesn't work.
ReplyDeleteIf people are always worried about being judged or different, the world would still be in the Dark Ages. It takes the people that stay true to themselves to break the social norms and change history forever. Sure there will be the nut jobs who stay true to themselves and end up failing miserably, but even they teach us something, as we can learn from their mistakes.
ReplyDelete-Dat Ca Iz Tow Up
I agree with the overall consensus here! That it is important to find yourself within yourself, but it's also very important to listen to other sources and authorities to formulate your opinions and beliefs. I mean,
ReplyDeletecan you imagine if we didn't study others' works? Shakespeare? Greek Philisophers? Emerson himself? Ayn Rand? (Just kidding Mr. Clarke -- haha). But really. It is important to understand others' opinions and beliefs before one can find oneself.
lillipbaum
I think truth is an interal thing. Finding that spirit and time of enlightenment is not based upon what's surrounding you but what you find within yourself and how you use that enlightenment to discover new things about yourself and to explore new ideas and to get to know yourself and the world around you better. -iloveorange52
ReplyDeleteasmigelsky-
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying that every person should think like I do. The reason we have democratic governments is to let people speak their individual opinions without being swayed by others. That relates to Emerson's argument that young people are the ones who listen to themselves without worrying what concequences may come.
Sue
I agree with iloveorange:) completely.
ReplyDeletePolarbear47, When we were talking about emerson, the group I was in were talking about conformity. We said that to be a nonconformist is conforming to non conformity. There is no 100% way to be a non conformist.
ReplyDelete-ViciousTrollup
here's the thing though,
ReplyDeletewhen you 'listen to others' sometimes it doesnt matter, because overall you only want to hear what you think.
If you are actually listening, others opinions can sometimes hurt and can be hard to handle.
-cheers
I think that personal growth reflects what one has learned from others, but also what they can learn from themselves. I think it is important to achieve balance between self discovery and observational discovery.
ReplyDelete-dj p0m0
I think it is important to recognize and embrace others' opinions because we can always learn from them.
ReplyDeleteIn my create photo class, we always critiqe eachother's final photos and I love it because I can see others' ideas and that sparks new ideas of mine. I can learn from the mistakes others' made in addition to my own. It is a very valuable experience. I would not be an effective artist if I did it all on my own- sometimes we need other people.
I think that this can be applied to Emerson's argument.
-jumping.lily
It can be helpful to look to others and authority for growth at times. When youa re struggling it is so great to have a support system. That is why I appreciate religion, although I do not strictly adhere to any conventional religion, I respect the support it offers to billions of people.
ReplyDeletemedusa
vicioustrollup, I believe that's what I said, was that conformity was necessary to an extent, but we are never going to be a communist state in that respect.
ReplyDeleteIf we don't listen to someone other than yourself...what could you possibly learn? We listen to teachers every day, and though some of them we are reluctant to believe or listen to...:) we sitll listen. Most teachers though educate us about things that we never knew existed. Think about this class. I'll admit that I didn't know anything about Post modernism or transcendentalism or half of the stuff that we talk about. But i feel that now understanding this gives me a better understanding of society, and even what I may believe and think.
ReplyDelete-Yellow Rose
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