70 of 74 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent introduction to Emerson, January 25, 2002
This review is from: The Spiritual Teachings of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Paperback)
Harold Bloom repeatedly names Ralph Waldo Emerson as the great theological architect of the "American religion" in his book of that title. However controversial some of Bloom's other theses may be, there is much truth in his characterization of the Sage of Concord. Probably most of us have been influenced by Emerson, at least indirectly, in far more ways than we realize.
But reading Emerson directly is at once an enlightening and maddening experience: "enlightening" because Emerson was a philosopher in the best sense of the word -- a lover of wisdom -- and "maddening" because he was _not_ a philosopher in any _other_ sense of the word. He was stubbornly disinclined to argumentation or even systematic exposition; his essays read more like sermons than like philosophical arguments; he preferred to deliver himself of his oracular insights without, it seems, subjecting them either to the criticism of other minds or even to the rigors of critical self-reflection, on the view that Reason was an all but infallible source of insight into truth and its objects are known with the same immediacy with which we know that we are awake. (It is a curious view of reason which makes no allowances for improvement of one's understanding.)
As a result of this take-it-or-leave it approach, his writings are all too easy to misunderstand, and for this he must bear much of the blame. For example, his remarks on charity in "Self-reliance" have led some readers to suppose that he was opposed to charity altogether, whereas in truth he believed that we are each of us suited by talent and temperament to be "charitable" to a special class of persons for whom we are therefore _truly_ responsible. Then, too, his remark in the same essay on "a foolish consistency" has been infamously and endlessly misquoted -- but even in its proper context it invites misunderstanding by failing to pay sufficient attention to the non-foolish variety of consistency (which Emerson supposed would take care of itself more or less automatically). Here again, Emerson's account of Reason, in giving so much weight to intuition, leaves strangely little room for reflection.
But in my own opinion, at least, Emerson's insights are genuine, sometimes brilliant, and essentially right, and it would be a shame if the readers who needed him most were unable to profit from his writings merely because he had been needlessly obscure. It would be nice, then, to have from another writer the guidance that Emerson himself was unwilling or unable to provide.
As you've probably guessed by now, that's where Richard Geldard comes in.
In this volume (which is a revised edition of _The Esoteric Emerson_, so don't buy them both!) Geldard does a marvelous job of exposition. He knows his Emerson backwards and forwards, and he sets out the essential features of Emerson's thought in clear and orderly fashion, chapter by chapter.
His essential "take" on Emerson, as you can tell from his title, is that Emerson is best approached as a spiritual teacher. I think this is not only correct but even obviously so; yet it is surprising how few available critical studies of Emerson are actually written from this point of view. At any rate, Geldard's exposition will provide the reader of Emerson with a much-needed "map" of the territory traversed in his writings.
I suspect that Geldard's "map" will make Emerson available to many readers who might otherwise have found him unpalatable. Some readers may, for example, be put off by what seems to be Emerson's extraordinarily cavalier attitude toward tradition in favor of present experience.
But according to Geldard, Emerson's actual meaning was as follows: "We have to break, lovingly, the vessels of our tradition in order to become one with the source of that tradition" [p. 176]. Now, certainly there is a difference in emphasis here with the religious tradition in which Emerson was brought up. But surely this is not far from, say, the Christian doctrine that the scriptures are a closed book unless read "in the Spirit." (Granted, Emerson had much more in common with the Quakers than with the Calvinists in what he made of this point. Nevertheless it is not alien to even the most theologically conservative Christianity.)
Not being a Christian myself, though, I am interested not primarily in reconciling Emerson with Christian theology but in simple exposition of his teaching. And Geldard excels in this regard: in ten straightforward chapters he sets out the essentials of Emerson's teaching and places it into the context of his life. Not bad for 177 pages of text.
There are one or two points on which I wish Geldard had done a _little_ bit more explaining (for example, on the difference between the meanings of "idealism" in its philosophical and its popular senses), since he does not seem to be presuming any prior acquaintance with philosophy on the part of his readers. But this is just nitpicking on my part. (Hey, I have my own favorite hobby horses too.) This is a fine book and it will be of immense value to anyone who wants to understand what in the world Emerson was on about.
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Emerson Would Be Delighted, January 16, 2002
This review is from: The Spiritual Teachings of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Paperback)
Emerson had a persona of being withdrawn, and rarely showed emotion. However, if he were here today, I believe that he would be very pleased with Geldard's interpretation of his work. Most of us have read Emerson's essays. They are thick and difficult, but the spirit of the work rings through and speaks very loudly to the authentic heart. Geldard has done the work of specific interpretation for us. If you feel a need for being yourself, which most of us do (healthy people do), then this book is a must read. Emerson turned away from the path that seemed to have been chosen for him, took a chance, and listened to his authentic self. The author points out that Emerson had some difficult years, and that rings true today for those of us that know, and chose to march to the beat of our own drum (Thoreau??). Emerson was inspired and was a great gift to us. Geldard makes his work understandable and relates it to our lives, today. Emerson was highly intellectual, and after reading Geldard's book, I'm preparing to read Emerson's essays once again, with the light that Geldard has placed upon it. It's pure, and it's spirit, and it is authentic. Of the five best books I've ever read, like my five friends out of the many, I can count this one on the top five. Read it, read it slowly, devour it, contemplate it. Let it permeate your being and at the very least have a place in your thought patterns during your day. This work is meant to teach and inspire and it has succeeded!
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
an american spiritual treasure, August 22, 2002
This review is from: The Spiritual Teachings of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Paperback)
yes, go ahead, hit your one-click order button now. for anyone interested in the life, thought, ideals and teachings of a GREAT american original, this is a book you want and need. brilliant, beautiful, eternal, this book will not go out of date. universal wisdom is timeless and Emerson was a master. he was an avid admirer of the wondrous Bhagavad Gita and his writings reflect that. he had an understanding of the need for each self to connect with the eternal Self or spirit, to use his americanized way of saying it. his teaching keeps pointing the reader right back to the very heart of himself or herself: the place divinity lives, the place where God is found. shortly after resigning as a minister of the unitarian church, he wrote, "i will not live out of me. i will not see with other's eyes. my good is good, my evil ill. i would be free---i cannot be, while i take things as others please to rate them. i dare attempt to lay out my own road, that which myself delights in shall be good. that which i do not want--indifferent. that which i hate is bad, that's flat. henceforth, please God, forever i forgo the yoke of men's opinions. i will be lighthearted as a bird and live with God". o k, hit that button a couple of times, this book makes a wonderful gift and you ain't gonna wanna give up your copy!!!
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