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Ralph Waldo Emerson: His Concept of Skepticism and His Doctrine of the Infinitude of the Private Man

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Ralph Waldo Emerson: His Concept of Skepticism and His Doctrine of the Infinitude of the Private Man Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Master's Theses Theses and Dissertations 1962 Ralph Waldo Emerson: His Concept of Skepticism and His Doctrine of the Infinitude of the Private Man Donal Francis Mahoney Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Mahoney, Donal Francis, "Ralph Waldo Emerson: His Concept of Skepticism and His Doctrine of the Infinitude of the Private Man" (1962). Master's Theses. 1770. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/1770 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1962 Donal Francis Mahoney RALPH' WALDO nEIlSONs HIS OONOEPr OJ' SIBP!IOIS'K A.N]) ltIS DOO'.rRID OP '!1m IDINI'l'tJ'DB OP ftB PRIVA'. nw Donal J'Pnno1. K&hon.,. A !beaia S.ba1tte4 ,. tbe Paoulty of the Graduate SChool .f 'Ley.l. U'n1yua1 V in Pariial hlt1llaent ot the Bequ1r.. enta tor the Decree .f ...ter .f Arta Jlme 1962 Donal ?ranc1s ~,fahon.y was born in Chicago, Illinois, Fehru.ary 20, 19~. He was graduated from Yount Oarmel High Sohool, Jun., 1956. After atten41ng st. Procopiua Oolleg., Lisle, Illinois, he was graduate. :troll Loy.la uniTereity 1n June, 1960, with the degree o~ Baohelor of Soience in Humanities. Mr. Mahon.., began hi. graduate stadie. at Loyola UniTeraity in Sept_ber, 1960. He was employed a8 a graduate assistant in the Jrig1iab Department between September, 1960, and Januar,y. 1962. iil Chapter I. INftOlJUOfIOIf • • • • • • • .. • • • • .. .. • 1 st....... t 0'1 the ,""la--h-ooed'un- Sovo..... e4-PN'ri.01l. 1."•• tl.. tiona. II. SI'BPfIOI81h -OIROL'U- AN» -IXPIllIDOE" .. .. ·C1J101 ••-. polo.. e of ".raonian akept1oia--Unsettl-.nt 0'1 "'8011- Lack .t p ........ In .11 of lit.­ Inittal oharaet.~ ••tl •• of the • .,tlo--Ixp_t... •• a.lin.. tioD of •••llano'ter of _--"'_ lANa of Lit.. «.finition ana 41 .....1oe-­ ......n •• plea ~o. looorpo~'10. of Sa th. &0• .,".' 'Hll.f. 0'1 .kept'.'.•••t. • ..,.. III. SJCIPfIOISJI. "'MOnAI.D, Oll. !HB SKI'P!IO· AN]) .11'.1,. ........... threefold aooompll8bment 0'1 Montatsne •••q- ..t1Jaati4l1l8 of the HUH of ...non t. ueptioiam--fhe ,.,iue an4 tbe man of _ ... talent-Pault of tbe seni'" an4 the> lID of lIere tIIl.ent-ftie of tlle-;:o.,t1e. the oonald.re-PlaUol'll-..-ne­ tor the 8xi"••• of the • .,tio-Dee­ ~tloD o~ the .taptio b7 the moral .en­ ti•• nt-Tnnalent natun 0'1 BlterllOn' • • keptiol.... crltloal bellet that "araon'. denial 0'1 akap'1.!_ ha. lnntficient oaua.. -N.~ of tbe taow...,. of __ moral aen'1ment .a link between .keptioism an4 lnt1nltu4e---1at.·, tun.~ o~ ek~lo1 ..-­ Nature ot Fate--Uni,ue Goexiaten.e of 11m1~atlon and t7ee4oa of the w111--Power of the w111. v IV. 'PHE 'OOCTllINJ OF '!'HB nr.r::rnTUDE OJ' 'fH'E PRIVA'BHAN • • • • • • • • • • • • • • * statement of the dootTine--My8tlo188 an' lnt1n1tu4e--!hree possible interpretations ot the 40.vtn........ lvalu.tlon negatlon of ttrat an4aeoon4 .....ente--A.voo.tlon an. of tbe thlrd. ufJ\UDftt-lrideno. t.or this posltlon--Slan1t10an0e ot, lmeraonts oonoept of nature in infinitude 4ootr1ne--Bm«r80n'. faoul tl.. of 'tisa nason and \U14entan41na and their t.J81'DlUle u4 English 1'Oota-­ Iapol'i_ce ot Colu1qe 1J1 4tat1D.otlon of the huon anel the un4e:ratan4iq-Slallar­ it, ot C~71.·. an4 "'~on·. Gonoapt. 0'1 Q,M-lant1aa oonoe,ta :in lanaon­ S11l11arltl•• 1n ".non's an4 OoleJll4,ge'. ooneept. 01 the rea.OIl an. the un4entan41nR -Pw1otl0!l ot tb. acti.. " .. nason, the taoulty of the moral .-ntlment. in the .....t , • ., ln1'1nl twte--ooourr_o. of 1ntin- 1 twte 111 Btl ll]Km no.iTin. til. :0.1 V 'throUJb the tacu1v of th4t 1I0nl aenU- taent whloh eTo1ft. from the raoul" of the "&801\* v. ~A'IOlf • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 91 8a.u;r of tindi».. JIBLIOGRlPKr • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • 102 CRA.PI'D I INTRODUOTION !his thesis proposes to analyze Ralph Waldo Emerson's conoept 01 skeptioi.m and his dootrine of the infinitude of the private man in terms of what each i8 in itself and how eaoh relate. to the other. Initially, the nature of Emerson's skeptioism will be studied. !hen, in the light of this analysis, the infinitude do~trine will be examined. A oonclusion as to their relationship will be offered. A summary of the argument will tollow. The investigation ot Emerson's oonoept ot skepticism and his infinitude dootrine has brought the writer to gripe with the following materials. the major eSBays in which Emerson has dealt with the problem--in the main, "Circles," "Experience," "Montaigne, or, The SkeptiC," and "Fate", the corresponding Journals and, in 80.e oase., portions of the Journals which do not correspond in time but do in subjeot matter, i.e., a note upon a subjeot pertinent to skepticism that ia delivered in later years purely as an 1 2 afterthought but i8 in itself illuminating, and, lastly, the appropriate soholarship written in the area. As to the history, the truth and falsity, of the problem presented, no exaot comment can be made as no history of the precise nature of the problem has been located. A study of Emerson's skepticism--not, however, of his infinitude theory-­ is Oharles Lowell Young's Emerson's Montaigne (New York, 1941). A study that approaches Emerson's doctrine of the infinitude of the private man is J. O. McOormick's "Emerson's Theory of Human Greatness,·f !!.! England Quarterly, XXVI (September, 195'). 291-314. Neither study deals essentially with the subject matter of this paper. Charles Lowell Young's Emerson's Montaigne is in the main a biographical study of the life and prinoiples of a man who in depth contributed to Emerson's conoept of skepticism. Chapter-wise, Young deals with llfontaigne sep­ arately as man, writer, moralist, and skeptic. He devotes an additional ohapter to"Emereon'e Acquaintance with Montaigne." This study will differ from Young's in that it shall be concern.ed primarily with Emerson' s notion of skepticism and shall be concerned with Montaigne's concept only insofar as it sieves through Emerson. Where !'oCormiokts study differs from the immediate one is in its devotion to an enumeration and disoussion of those persons in history Emerson thought notably superior and in its detailed examination of many of the roots in history of Emerson's ooncept of greatness. The immediate study is not historioal. It is expositional. It explains one portion of Emerson's philosophical belief. It alludes to history only when, in the mind of this writer, an explanation of the historical root of an idea that Emerson had serves to illuminate the idea itself. Since there can be located no single, unified, detailed exposition of either Emerson's concept of skepticism or of his doctrine of the infinitude of the private man, and since there oan be looated no study of the relationship this writer finds to exist between these two areas of thought, the purpose of this paper is to explain these areas of thought and to point out the relationship that exists between them. CHAPTER II SKEPTICISM: "OIRCLES" AN"D "EXPERIENCE" Of Ralph Waldo Emerson's major essays, there are four which, in the main, are detailed presentations of that author's concept of skepticism. They are "Circles," "Experience," "Montaigne, or, 'l'he Skeptio," and "Fate."l Each essay offers an aspect or aspects of Emerson's skep­ tical thought; and each, while a unit in itself, inter­ twines with and supplements the skepticism of the other. The function of "Circles" in the text of Emersonian skepticism is that of a prologue, for, in c1aiming·that "permanence is but a word of degrees, .. 2 the essay posits in introduction a basic principle that ribs that body of skeptical thought which its trio of companions embellishes and develope. 1stephen Whioher, ed., Seleotions from Ra~~~ ~aldo Emerson (Boston, 1957), pp. 168-178, 25~4' -301, "0-352. 2Ra1ph Waldo Emerson, "Cirolee,1f in Ibid., p. 168. Emerson adds: "OUr globe seen by ~od is a transparent law, not a mass of facts." 4 5 One cannot deny that the "essay shows signs that Emerson at the time of writing was appreciably unsettled."" He was, however, more than unsettled: he was, or was coming to be, preoccupied with the negative import of the flux in nature that he, in prior moments of indefatigable optimism, would have found easy to ignore. nCircles," then, is the voice of this gruwing unrest:4 "Circles" is single among Emersonian essays-­ single in its daring. Brief passages in other essays dare as much, but nowhere else is the animating principle ot a discourse so ventur­ ous. • • • The ttfluxft has been much dwelt upon, but one doubts if the realization ot the plas­ tioity ot the universe (in distinction from the mere slipperiness ot the personal life) has ever elsewhere reached the point attended in "Circles." The lack ot permanence that Emerson sees in "Circlestt is resident in no speoifio area 01 lite. Everything in existenoe tlits and meanders. "Nature ever flows, stands "stephen Whicher, Freedom and Fate (Philadelphia, 195.,). p. 97. --- 40scar W. Firkins, Ralph Waldo Emerson (Boston, 1915), p. 188. 6 never still. Motion or ohange is her mode of existenoe. u5 'Nothing--nature, man, nor knowledge--is stable. Nature has uno fixtures"t 6 the univeree always eddies in a vortex.
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