OK, so: here goes. I read a bit in a journal the other day that suggested that the transcendental theories of Emerson (and others) had no real application in today's world, that young people today had no real use for that kind of idealistic romanticism. The theory was this: we've become so comfortable with the basic artificiality of our world that any discussion of anything more real or natural seems out of place and almost ridiculous. In other words, because we operate so comfortably in our media-saturated, technologically advanced, hyper distracted world. we can't even begin to see anything real. There are so many filters that we no longer can make out the original. So I guess the question I would pose to you is this: does the idealistic Romanticism of Emerson still have a place in this world or is merely a relic of a bygone era?
Unfortunately, the idealistic Romanticism of Emerson has become a relic of a bygone era. In todays world you cannot experience the naturalness that Emerson speaks of. Even when a family goes camping or engages in some other nature related activity, the artificiality of the modern world interferes. Most jobs now require an employee to be reachable at all times(requires use of phone). In addition, very few areas in our nation are free of artificiality. If one was to find a truly natural, untampered place, it is quite probable that sooner or later a commercial plane would be seen an the sky, reminding one of all of their worries in this artificial world.
I agree with Eric that the idealistic Romanticism that Emerson believes in has no place in modern society. Technology makes it almost impossible for people in the modern world to achieve the level of naturalism that Emerson talks about. Technology has so many benefits to society that it vastly out ways the negatives, which makes it extremely difficult to separate from the modern world and embrace transcendental views. It will be even more difficult for future generations to accept transcendental theories as technology continues to become more and more important in the daily lives of people.
I agree with both Anthony and Eric with the statment that Emerson's transdental theories have become a relic of bygone era and no longer have a place in modern society. Emerson's goal is for every person to be able to relate back to their roots and the naturlness that they had when they were an infant. Now that people and technology have become so evolved through out time is there really such a state of mind? If we were to somehow magically reach this moment in time would we notice it let alone ackowledge it? sure there is that brief moment when you are born, but even now it seems like infants are being introduced to techonology and the ways of society at an earlier stage of life. Is that just because society is placing more and more of our every day lives in the hands of technology or is it something more?
I agree with Eric and Anthony. Idealistic Romanticism that Emerson believes is a terrific idea, but sadly people can't even think about not having technology. Technology has become such a comfort to so many people. Technology surrounds us, and our world is so emerged in technology that sadly there is no possible way to get out of it i think. That is what our society is becoming, a race to see you can bring out the best new thing. The latest gadget and people go nuts to get it the very instant it comes out. Peoples desire for the next best thing is to strong now, that its nearly impossible to move away from. Like Anthony pointed out, Technology has many benefits to society that it vastly out ways the negatives. Which is true. Technology helps in so many ways, to make our lives easier, or make things a lot safer in the world. Technology is just so big. When you hear parents say i never had that when i was your age, and even having younger siblings i see they get things i didn't have at there age. When i was in middle school, about 7th grade was when all my friends started to get cell phones, so did i, well now my brother, going into 5th grade, got a cell phone and so does all his friends. The new generations just are so technology based, that there is becoming less room for Emerson's beliefs. No way to really reach back and go to the idealistic Romanticism.
I agree with Eric and Anthony, that the idealistic romanticism that Emerson believes in has no place in modern society. There are a lot of filters or blockades that cause a person to be separate from nature, one of the main filters would be technology.In society today, the technology is very necessary in one's every day life that no matter how much you tired to get away from it you would always end up using it. For example, so many people in the US alone use the television every morning to see what the weather is and in further detail what to wear. In fact, Technology keeps the world together, informing us when tragedy or heroic actions happen Technology provides unification of the world, therefore no one would be able to reconnect with nature and not use technology; Emerson's theory has no place in the modern society.
I'm going to have to jump on the bandwagon here and agree with everyone above who has posted saying that "the idealistic romanticism that Emerson believes in has no place in modern society." Like Saige, I agree 100% that technology has become like another limb to society. And while anyone can still enjoy nature, chances are they are going to want to read a book- not a paperback, but rather use a Kindle or iPad to read. Technology has infiltrated our lives so much that there is a club at school devoted to helping teach the elderly how to use modern technologies. Yet, there is a new movement- the green movement, which has the potential to bring back some, not all, but some idealistic romantic beliefs back. Such as in Social J, we are trying to create a school garden, which would allow everyone to have a hands on experience with nature. Yet, in a society where a baby gets their first electronic toy at birth, and a phone when they are in Elementary school, I think we have reached the point of no return. Goodbye to the transcendental theories of Emerson. It was nice knowing ya. The closest our kid's generation and the generations following will get to the theories of transcendentalism will be by reading about an era long bygone.
Boy, you guys all agree with one another. I say tomorrow we all throw our iPhones in the canyon! (There's an app for that, right? Like a game in which we can virtually throw our iPhones in the canyon?)
After reading what almost everyone had to say, I believe that the idealistic Romanticism that Emerson believes in takes place modern society. Society is too distracted by there everyday electronics that we cant live without. Emerson clearly explains how there are many filters such as technology which extincts humans from nature. In society today there are too many people including my self without any survival skills. It makes me think what life would be like with out it and if life would have been better without the advanced technology that we have. I know school would be much easier in some aspects. I would see much more people coming outside to meet up instead of talking over communication devices. I will never know because society is too wrapped up with technology and we know more about the world and our surroundings than we would have ever known because of it.
Sure, I'd throw my iphone into the canyon, if my parents loved me enough to get me one...But i have to agree with Becca (never thought i'd say that haha), who agrees with everyone else that Technology has ruined all hope of going back to a peaceful society where you could look at the stars and everything was 'perfect'! People are trying to spend time more time in nature, but its only for a three day weekend and then its back to driving your Hummer. But going back to what i said in the beginning, parents are always trying to do what is best for their children, whether its get them into the best schools, or teach them the right lessons, so maybe its a good thing that i dont have an iphone app that lets me take a pic of the night sky and shows me what constalation i'm looking at. I think its a good thing to listen to my grandfather tell me about the stars instead of some annoying automated voice? So to answer your question mrh,i think yes, "the idealistic Romanticism of Emerson" still has a small space in this world, very samll indeed and it lives in the generations before us, who tell us of what life was like when computers were the size of classrooms, and when summer's were about skipping stones at the pond, instead of SAT prep, and interships at a place that will look good to colleges. (i dont think there's an app like that, but there is an Emerson quote app for 99 cents) :)
Taking a walk in the woods is so overrated. Why do that when you can do the exact same thing on your couch at home with an Xbox controller in your hand fighting off evil dragons in a far away land? Unfortunately this mind set is all to common among youths in todays world. With modern technology the next generation of children are living less and less in the moment and experiencing the world in its natural way and instead wasting away ours on their couches with a bag of cheetos puffs. Emersons ideals are not just socially unacceptable in todays world but virtually impossible to live out. At least not if the person who is trying to be the "perfect man" wants to fit in today's social structure in any way. Living in the moment and living every day as if its your last is all well and good, but not if you want to go to college. The facts are facts you can't plan for the future while living in the moment and planning for the future is the only thing teenagers can do if they want to live out the goals their parents, teachers, and idols have set for them.
Sorry Eric, Anthony and you other guys but i think technology is crippling our society and the idealistic romanticism of emerson is needed in human culture. Sure I love my I-Phone, but it, along with other technology is dumbing us down, and disconnecting us. If i have i problem, forgot something, or am just bored i turn to my phone, google, face book, or whatever. Its definitely a problem if not an addiction. But what that does to people is that it causes them to not think or try to remember or entertain them selves because technology will do it for them. This dampers creativity, and dulls minds and thats where we need Emerson's ideals. So i guess it would be a great idea to throw our phones in to the canyon but what will that really do? The "progress" of society and technology is an unstoppable force that people will have to deal with, but is it really progress?
I would have to agree with Eric and Anthony about the fact that Emerson's idealistic Romanticism is a lost cause. Today in our world we have too many filters blocking us from achieving Emerson's goal of being all natural. One of the biggest filters (as everyone previously mentioned) is technology. Technology has both good and bad affects on our society. I agree with Grant that technology is really affecting our society in a bad way. I think that technology disconnects you from reality. When i was a kid the best games i played were the ones my friends and i made up to entertain ourselves. Kids do not do that anymore they play video games and live in that virtual world. They lose their imagination and creativity because all they focus on is beating the game they are playing. It depresses me to see these young kids attached to their Nintendo ds and ps2. There are so many other fun things you can do. Technology does have benefits but its disadvantages are really affecting our society and i worry what is going to happen to us as technology continues to advance.
I have to disagree with everyone and say that Emerson’s transcendental theories will always have a place in our society. Although in we may seem to be ‘addicted’ to technology I think that with the exception of modern medicine we as a society would be entirely capable of giving it all up to achieve the transcendental ideals of Emerson. However this would only be possible if enough people found the benefits of this type of society more important than their technology, unfortunately at this time I can’t see that happening.
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ReplyDeleteOK, so: here goes. I read a bit in a journal the other day that suggested that the transcendental theories of Emerson (and others) had no real application in today's world, that young people today had no real use for that kind of idealistic romanticism. The theory was this: we've become so comfortable with the basic artificiality of our world that any discussion of anything more real or natural seems out of place and almost ridiculous. In other words, because we operate so comfortably in our media-saturated, technologically advanced, hyper distracted world. we can't even begin to see anything real. There are so many filters that we no longer can make out the original. So I guess the question I would pose to you is this: does the idealistic Romanticism of Emerson still have a place in this world or is merely a relic of a bygone era?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the idealistic Romanticism of Emerson has become a relic of a bygone era. In todays world you cannot experience the naturalness that Emerson speaks of. Even when a family goes camping or engages in some other nature related activity, the artificiality of the modern world interferes. Most jobs now require an employee to be reachable at all times(requires use of phone). In addition, very few areas in our nation are free of artificiality. If one was to find a truly natural, untampered place, it is quite probable that sooner or later a commercial plane would be seen an the sky, reminding one of all of their worries in this artificial world.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Eric that the idealistic Romanticism that Emerson believes in has no place in modern society. Technology makes it almost impossible for people in the modern world to achieve the level of naturalism that Emerson talks about. Technology has so many benefits to society that it vastly out ways the negatives, which makes it extremely difficult to separate from the modern world and embrace transcendental views. It will be even more difficult for future generations to accept transcendental theories as technology continues to become more and more important in the daily lives of people.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Anthony and Eric with the statment that Emerson's transdental theories have become a relic of bygone era and no longer have a place in modern society. Emerson's goal is for every person to be able to relate back to their roots and the naturlness that they had when they were an infant. Now that people and technology have become so evolved through out time is there really such a state of mind? If we were to somehow magically reach this moment in time would we notice it let alone ackowledge it? sure there is that brief moment when you are born, but even now it seems like infants are being introduced to techonology and the ways of society at an earlier stage of life. Is that just because society is placing more and more of our every day lives in the hands of technology or is it something more?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Eric and Anthony. Idealistic Romanticism that Emerson believes is a terrific idea, but sadly people can't even think about not having technology. Technology has become such a comfort to so many people. Technology surrounds us, and our world is so emerged in technology that sadly there is no possible way to get out of it i think. That is what our society is becoming, a race to see you can bring out the best new thing. The latest gadget and people go nuts to get it the very instant it comes out. Peoples desire for the next best thing is to strong now, that its nearly impossible to move away from. Like Anthony pointed out, Technology has many benefits to society that it vastly out ways the negatives. Which is true. Technology helps in so many ways, to make our lives easier, or make things a lot safer in the world. Technology is just so big. When you hear parents say i never had that when i was your age, and even having younger siblings i see they get things i didn't have at there age. When i was in middle school, about 7th grade was when all my friends started to get cell phones, so did i, well now my brother, going into 5th grade, got a cell phone and so does all his friends. The new generations just are so technology based, that there is becoming less room for Emerson's beliefs. No way to really reach back and go to the idealistic Romanticism.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Eric and Anthony, that the idealistic romanticism that Emerson believes in has no place in modern society. There are a lot of filters or blockades that cause a person to be separate from nature, one of the main filters would be technology.In society today, the technology is very necessary in one's every day life that no matter how much you tired to get away from it you would always end up using it. For example, so many people in the US alone use the television every morning to see what the weather is and in further detail what to wear. In fact, Technology keeps the world together, informing us when tragedy or heroic actions happen Technology provides unification of the world, therefore no one would be able to reconnect with nature and not use technology; Emerson's theory has no place in the modern society.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to jump on the bandwagon here and agree with everyone above who has posted saying that "the idealistic romanticism that Emerson believes in has no place in modern society." Like Saige, I agree 100% that technology has become like another limb to society. And while anyone can still enjoy nature, chances are they are going to want to read a book- not a paperback, but rather use a Kindle or iPad to read. Technology has infiltrated our lives so much that there is a club at school devoted to helping teach the elderly how to use modern technologies.
ReplyDeleteYet, there is a new movement- the green movement, which has the potential to bring back some, not all, but some idealistic romantic beliefs back. Such as in Social J, we are trying to create a school garden, which would allow everyone to have a hands on experience with nature. Yet, in a society where a baby gets their first electronic toy at birth, and a phone when they are in Elementary school, I think we have reached the point of no return. Goodbye to the transcendental theories of Emerson. It was nice knowing ya. The closest our kid's generation and the generations following will get to the theories of transcendentalism will be by reading about an era long bygone.
Boy, you guys all agree with one another. I say tomorrow we all throw our iPhones in the canyon! (There's an app for that, right? Like a game in which we can virtually throw our iPhones in the canyon?)
ReplyDeleteAfter reading what almost everyone had to say, I believe that the idealistic Romanticism that Emerson believes in takes place modern society. Society is too distracted by there everyday electronics that we cant live without. Emerson clearly explains how there are many filters such as technology which extincts humans from nature. In society today there are too many people including my self without any survival skills. It makes me think what life would be like with out it and if life would have been better without the advanced technology that we have. I know school would be much easier in some aspects. I would see much more people coming outside to meet up instead of talking over communication devices. I will never know because society is too wrapped up with technology and we know more about the world and our surroundings than we would have ever known because of it.
ReplyDeleteSure, I'd throw my iphone into the canyon, if my parents loved me enough to get me one...But i have to agree with Becca (never thought i'd say that haha), who agrees with everyone else that Technology has ruined all hope of going back to a peaceful society where you could look at the stars and everything was 'perfect'! People are trying to spend time more time in nature, but its only for a three day weekend and then its back to driving your Hummer. But going back to what i said in the beginning, parents are always trying to do what is best for their children, whether its get them into the best schools, or teach them the right lessons, so maybe its a good thing that i dont have an iphone app that lets me take a pic of the night sky and shows me what constalation i'm looking at. I think its a good thing to listen to my grandfather tell me about the stars instead of some annoying automated voice? So to answer your question mrh,i think yes, "the idealistic Romanticism of Emerson" still has a small space in this world, very samll indeed and it lives in the generations before us, who tell us of what life was like when computers were the size of classrooms, and when summer's were about skipping stones at the pond, instead of SAT prep, and interships at a place that will look good to colleges. (i dont think there's an app like that, but there is an Emerson quote app for 99 cents) :)
ReplyDeleteTaking a walk in the woods is so overrated. Why do that when you can do the exact same thing on your couch at home with an Xbox controller in your hand fighting off evil dragons in a far away land? Unfortunately this mind set is all to common among youths in todays world. With modern technology the next generation of children are living less and less in the moment and experiencing the world in its natural way and instead wasting away ours on their couches with a bag of cheetos puffs. Emersons ideals are not just socially unacceptable in todays world but virtually impossible to live out. At least not if the person who is trying to be the "perfect man" wants to fit in today's social structure in any way. Living in the moment and living every day as if its your last is all well and good, but not if you want to go to college. The facts are facts you can't plan for the future while living in the moment and planning for the future is the only thing teenagers can do if they want to live out the goals their parents, teachers, and idols have set for them.
ReplyDeleteSorry Eric, Anthony and you other guys but i think technology is crippling our society and the idealistic romanticism of emerson is needed in human culture. Sure I love my I-Phone, but it, along with other technology is dumbing us down, and disconnecting us. If i have i problem, forgot something, or am just bored i turn to my phone, google, face book, or whatever. Its definitely a problem if not an addiction. But what that does to people is that it causes them to not think or try to remember or entertain them selves because technology will do it for them. This dampers creativity, and dulls minds and thats where we need Emerson's ideals. So i guess it would be a great idea to throw our phones in to the canyon but what will that really do? The "progress" of society and technology is an unstoppable force that people will have to deal with, but is it really progress?
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Eric and Anthony about the fact that Emerson's idealistic Romanticism is a lost cause. Today in our world we have too many filters blocking us from achieving Emerson's goal of being all natural. One of the biggest filters (as everyone previously mentioned) is technology. Technology has both good and bad affects on our society. I agree with Grant that technology is really affecting our society in a bad way. I think that technology disconnects you from reality. When i was a kid the best games i played were the ones my friends and i made up to entertain ourselves. Kids do not do that anymore they play video games and live in that virtual world. They lose their imagination and creativity because all they focus on is beating the game they are playing. It depresses me to see these young kids attached to their Nintendo ds and ps2. There are so many other fun things you can do. Technology does have benefits but its disadvantages are really affecting our society and i worry what is going to happen to us as technology continues to advance.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with everyone and say that Emerson’s transcendental theories will always have a place in our society. Although in we may seem to be ‘addicted’ to technology I think that with the exception of modern medicine we as a society would be entirely capable of giving it all up to achieve the transcendental ideals of Emerson. However this would only be possible if enough people found the benefits of this type of society more important than their technology, unfortunately at this time I can’t see that happening.
ReplyDelete