Transcendentalism: The Philosophy Of The Mind Essay -- essays researc

Transcendentalism: The Philosophy of the Mind Transcendentalism is the view that the basic truth of the universe lies beyond the knowledge obtained from the senses, a knowledge that transcendentalists regard as the mere appearance of things (Adventures 162). Transcendentalists believe the mind is where ideas are formed. The transcendentalist ideas of God, man, and the universe were not all original, but were a combination of other philosophies and religions. One of the major questions of philosophy is "What is the nature of the universe?" Immanuel Kant was one of the major Transcendentalists of his time. One of the major questions he asked was, "What is knowledge, and how is it possible?" Transcendentalists believe that one really only knows personal experiences, and that one can not know the universe which exists. Kant came to the conclusion that there are two universes, one of experience, called the "Phenomenal Universe", and the other the "Noumenal Universe", the one of reason. The first is scientific and the other practical (Frost 42). Transcendentalists think there is a dimension of depth in everything that exists. They also think the spirit is what controls your physical side (Halverson 431). Some transcendentalists say the world has no beginning in time, everything takes place according to the laws of nature. The same people think there is not necessarily an absolute Being who causes the world to be (Frost 42). Transcendentalists think nature is a product of the mind, and without the mind nature would not exist (Santayana 42). These ideas come from the Romantic traditions which originated in England. The Romantics believed in spiritual unity of all forms of being, with God, humanity, and nature sharing a universal soul (Adventures 208). Transcendentalists came to the conclusion that good and evil were things only man could control. Their belief of man is that man is part of the universe of objects and things. His knowledge is confined to ideas. He is able to reason, and he can form ideas of the outer world of God, freedom, and immortality (Frost 53). Immanuel Kant said, "Always act in such a way that the maxim determining your conduct might as well become a universal law; act as though you can will that everybody sh... ... a bowl with many crevices and depressions in it's contour. When one pours water into the bowl, it takes the shape of the bowl, filling all the crevices. In the same way the environment pours impressions into the mind and they are received by the mind and shaped according to the nature of this mind (Frost 257). Some transcendentalists think all minds are alike. They say all minds have certain categories such as totality, unity, plurality, and reality. Transcendentalists believe knowledge is limited to the combined role of sensibility and understanding, both of which are concerned with sense and experience, though in different ways (Hakim 98). They also think knowledge is universal (Frost 258). Some transcendentalists think the ideas are of the mind and cannot be applied to a world outside of the mind. They believe ideas are a result of the kind of thinking organ which people have, and are determined by it's nature. Transcendentalism is a combination of beliefs, some of which are from other religions and other people and their philosophies. It is a belief that there is another way knowledge is obtained, not only from the senses, but also from the mind.