Ralph Waldo Emerson

American poet, essayist, and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson was born on May 25, 1803, in Boston. After studying at Harvard and teaching for a brief time, Emerson entered the ministry. He was appointed to the Old Second Church in his native city, but soon became an unwilling preacher. Unable in conscience to administer the sacrament of the Lord’s Soon after the death of his nineteen-year-old wife of tuberculosis, Emerson resigned his pastorate in 1831. Ralph Waldo Emerson died of pneumonia on April 27, 1882.

Beliefs about nature:

 - Identifies nature and spirit as the components of the universe

 - Art is nature in combination with the will of man

 - He defines nature as everything separate from the inner individual

 -  nature refers to the material world unchanged by man

Beliefs about individualism:

 - Nothing can bring you peace but yourself

 - The ultimate form of happiness is achieved when a person learns and adapts an individualistic lifestyle based on their own values

 - Feeling and sensation are antecedent to reason

 - life is a boundless privilege