Abstract
Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American Transcendentalist, is known as “the American Confucius”. He is also deeply influenced by the Confucianism from Confucius to Mencius, moreover, there is a constructive dialogue and engagement between them. However, it can not be inferred that Confucianism is also transcendentalism. First, Confucianism is based on “One-worldness”. Second, Confucianism is a kind of Guanxi-ism (relationism), so it is not individualism. Third, Confucianism is not intuitionism, but has the“structure of emotion-reason”. Fourth, Confucianism is not focus on “Oversoul”, but towards a pan-aestheticism based on the integration of Rites and Music. However, there are many similarities between American Transcendentalism and Chinese Confucianism: first, the harmony between man and nature; second, the returning to the human nature of goodness; third, the pursuit of “Moral Perfectionism”; fourth, the emphasis on the realization of beauty.
Recommended Citation
LIU, Yuedi
(2025)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55917/2151-6014.1754
"A Constructive Dialogue between Confucianism and Transcendentalism of Ralph Waldo Emerson,"
Comparative Philosophy: Vol. 16:
Iss.
1, Article 6.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/comparativephilosophy/vol16/iss1/6
