Little thoughts.
I think I have a slight obsession with lighting. I love walking around campus at night and just looking at the different lights and how their light splays on things (people, concrete, brick, walls).
In talking about Emerson in my American Lit. class I've really connected with what he was saying in Nature and Self-Reliance. One should take time to gaze on surroundings and think about ideas and walk around and just sit for awhile. We need to be honest with each other; we need to not be so timid and afraid. There's this obsession with stuff because it shows a certain status, and that's how you convey your standing in society -- through the stuff you own, or parade around. I'm not quite sure how true that is, but there's some validity to that. As my professor put it -- the soul-killing power of conformity leads to the necessity of individualism. And, to be consistent is to be controlled. When one is consistent one is predictable, and much easier to handle or deal with (ie controlled). So I guess Emerson is saying that one should be unpredictable and shake things up and not go meekly through life.
I'm not quite sure how much worth I put with Emerson, but I enjoy thinking about his ideas. Because if we're supposed to be self-reliant, and not follow others then why should we follow what Emerson teaches? Wouldn't that be going against his ideals?
In talking about Emerson in my American Lit. class I've really connected with what he was saying in Nature and Self-Reliance. One should take time to gaze on surroundings and think about ideas and walk around and just sit for awhile. We need to be honest with each other; we need to not be so timid and afraid. There's this obsession with stuff because it shows a certain status, and that's how you convey your standing in society -- through the stuff you own, or parade around. I'm not quite sure how true that is, but there's some validity to that. As my professor put it -- the soul-killing power of conformity leads to the necessity of individualism. And, to be consistent is to be controlled. When one is consistent one is predictable, and much easier to handle or deal with (ie controlled). So I guess Emerson is saying that one should be unpredictable and shake things up and not go meekly through life.
I'm not quite sure how much worth I put with Emerson, but I enjoy thinking about his ideas. Because if we're supposed to be self-reliant, and not follow others then why should we follow what Emerson teaches? Wouldn't that be going against his ideals?