Self Reliance

“Self-Reliance” is one of the most famous and representative works of the transcendentalist philosopher/author Ralph Waldo Emerson. Transcendentalism was a literary and philosophical movement of the early- and mid-19th century in the United States. Transcendentalist works stress the purity and goodness of individualism and community with nature, especially over the corruption and conformity of human society and institutions. This essay, published in 1841, is an exploration of self-reliance, or self-sufficiency, as a virtue. Emerson emphasizes the value of individual instincts, thought, and action, and determines these attributes to be universally positive. When a man embraces his own self-worth and lets his instincts and personal moral compass guide him through his life, he need not rely on constructed human institutions bound by conventions and laws.

Emerson states early in the essay, “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string,” and the rest of the essay explicates that image. In every man, there is the potential for great genius and contribution, but that potential can only be met through individualism and embracing one’s own strengths and instincts. After making the case for each man’s capacity for genius and self-reliance, Emerson examines some contours of human society that complicate a man’s natural ability to think for himself and act according. He likens society to a mob and offers several recommendations for transitioning out of that paradigm. For one, he champions solitude over community, arguing that a man should “stay at home” and explore the “internal ocean” of possibilities within the mind instead of so readily work with and focus on others. A “great” man, he says, can channel the power and fruitfulness of solitude even when immersed in a crowd.

Comfort in solitude and independence translates into worthy authority in this model, and authority over the self diminishes the need for external authorities within manmade institutions ranging from government to organized religion. Like other transcendentalists, Emerson imagines that each individual has a personal connection to God, free from the involvement of a middleman, such as a minister. Truth and enlightenment start from within and there, too, is where God will speak to men.

Emerson imagines self-reliance to be the path toward genuine peace and happiness as well as genius and productivity. The biggest hindrances to mastery of self-reliance are imitation and conformity. Emerson presents both of these practices as shameful epidemics that waste potential and violate the goodness of nature as God intended. He rejects imitation even within the confines of education, instead suggesting that intellectual achievement comes only through independent, original thought. The great minds of the past, Emerson insists, understood and embodied this notion—their genius came from themselves and not from their teachers or peers. They were often misunderstood and did not fear disapproval or judgment from peers. Conformity requires that a man abandons individually-driven pursuits in favor of prescriptions, forgoing the opportunity to discover and foster his unique individualism. Emerson implores men to denounce the comfort of fitting in and blindly agreeing with norms and conventions.

The essay is, by the end, a call to action for men to restructure their relationships with themselves, their close relations, and society as a whole. With himself at the center, a man can meet his full potential and benefit both himself and the world.