Monday, November 26, 2007

Emerson Aphorisms

Please cite the aphorism that struck you the most in "Self Reliance". An aphorism is a short statment that expresses wise or clever observations about life. Please elaborate on its meaning and the overall significance and connection to you.
Was there anything you disagreed with regarding Emerson's insights? Explain.

16 comments:

Kelsi. K said...

"Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of it's members. Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is it's aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs."

I liked this one because it seemed very blunt about society, and i'm sort of a blunt person in general, and i liked how it just started out with saying that society was a conspiracy.

HannahG said...

"A political victory, a rise of rents, the recovery of your sick or the return of your absent friend, or some other favorable event raises your spirits, and you think good days are preparing for you. Do not believe it. Nothing can bring you peace but yourself."

I completely agree with what this says because nothing is more important in life than being able to rely on yourself for happiness. Others may help you feel happy for the time being, but at the end of the day it comes down to how you feel with yourself. If you rely on other people or items for your overall happiness with life, what happens when those things go away? Being able to be an independent person helps you in difficult times, and knowing that you can always count on yourself is the greatest feeling you can have.

Maureen K. said...

"Men measure their esteem of each other by what each has, and not by what each is."

As far as meaning would go, the phrase speaks for itself. People will judge eachother based on what the other possesses, and not who they are inside. We are always comparing ourselves to everyone else.

I see people judging their own worth, based upon their friends, and their friends' possessions and talents, as opposed to their own qualities. I personally judge my own qualities based on those of others. And in doing this, people appear to be something that they're not.

But, although Emerson's goal of seeing people for they are is noble, most people aren't going to take the time and trouble. What would be the point?

Phil E. said...

"What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crow keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude."


This really speaks to me because I am a firm believer in individuality and the self journey of life. The truth of the matter is, is that our life is split up into sections. elementary school, middle school, college, life after college, and maybe for some marriage and happiness. In High School especially it is my view that we should mainly worry about ourselves. I do not want to worry about the feelings and emotional status of everyone around me because high school is such a small section of my life and I do not want to spend it worrying about other people and their problems. Also I am a firm believer in finding your own way in this world and not letting other people tell you what you should do. The only decisions worth making are those that come from thyself. This aphorism to me is all about self reliance and independence. You can not live your life relying on other people to solve your problems. I quote Bruce Wayne's father from Batman Begins, "We fall, only to learn how to get back up."

Emerson is a pretty enlightened cat and I liked what he had to say I really didn't necessarily disagree with anything he said.

Liz S. said...

"What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crow keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude."

This aphorism was the most relevant to me and my life, as well as our society. Everyday of our lives we are constantly reminded of what others think if us and our actions. If someone wants to walk across the country naked it’s going to be in the news and everyone is going to be caught up in that person’s life and stating their opinions about what he or she is doing. This particular aphorism basically tells us that you can do what you want to because what you do is no one’s business but your own. Our society is based on the “rule” that you need to fit in and do as others do. This has forced us to always second-guess ourselves and think about what our peers will think if we do a certain act, which has caused us to become dependent on others to tell us how to act and what to do. Don’t be a person that runs around telling others how they should act or throwing in your opinion on what a certain person did. MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. This is the gist of what this aphorism tells us to do and it is by far the most striking aphorism of the bunch.

Matt D. said...

"The other terror that scares us from selftrust is our consistency; a reverence for our past act or word because the eyes of others have no other datafor computing our orbit than our past act, and you loth to disappoint them."

I think that this is relevant today because some people don't believe in themselves enough. I think that it is like the saying "what would you do if you knew that you could not fail?". I think that it's like this because people don't believe enough. If you want to do something then just go for it, there's nothing to lose. I think that people should take more risks and not just follow in everyone elses footsteps from the past to now. People should trust in themselves more and not just go day by day doing the same things over and over again being consistent. It also says that we loth to disappoint. This is very true in today's society. Sports teams hate to lose, because they do not want to disappoint people. People should change and live on the edge more, rather than always playing it safe. I like this and agree with Emerson on this quote.

brian h. said...

"The other terror that scares us from selftrust is our consistency."

I thought this aphorism was interesting because this is a true statement. This means that we don't trust ourselves because we are all consistent with each other. We all do the same things and none of us differ in our actions. We don't do the exact same things, but we are very similar. Emerson is saying that because we are all consistent, we are scared to venture out and have our own opinions and ideas. I firmly agree with this statement because I think all of us should have our own opinions despite this consistency.

Alyssa B. said...

“Good and Bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this.”

I love this aphorism because it states that Good and Bad are simply perspectives. During annotating my ALIS a question that kept coming up was the validity of Good and Bad. I agree with Emerson in the sense that Good and Bad can be one in the same and exist only as names that people use to describe what benefits them, in their own perspective. What is good for, say, a cat, is certainly very bad for the mice it eats. Although the mice believe the cat to be evil, the cat sees its action as good because it is required to live. And even though to the mice, the cat’s actions are the equivalent of satanic, the cat eats them all the same. That’s just an example from my ALIS book, but I like it a lot. I think it is important to remember that your perspective is what ultimately defines good and bad and therefore you must use your own judgment and become your own person in order to accurately judge good and bad.

Natalie H. said...

"Men measure their esteem of each other by what each has, and not by what each is."

This frase is one that is very true to this day. So many people base their selves upon who others are, not who they truly are. We all judge each other and then look at ourselves and judge ourselves(Based on each others aspects). Really we need to be who we are inside without looking at others and trying to change our whole entire outlook based on someone elses. Too many people do not speak for themselves. They do not speak what they truly believe in. Even I base my opinion off a hundred other opinions I have heard and judged. Many peopole might no even know who they really are becasue they are always imitating or changing based on who they see others are. Who is the ideal person? How can i change to be better? No, that should not be it, you should be YOURself. When you were borm who were you? Not who has made you want to change to be more like them.

Michael G. said...

"It is the harder because you will always finbd those who think they know what is your duty better than you do". I find this very interesting yet very true. so often in a persons life do they cme accross those people that naturally think they are better. They believe they can do anything, even your own job better than you can. This frustrates me but opens my eyes and makes sure that in my personal life I won't allow someone to push me around our call themselves better in my area of expertise.

I did disagree when he states, " Truth is handsomer than the affection of love". I believe that there isn't anything stronger than the power of love. I may be reading it incorrectly because there seems to be a lot of perplexing words but in my opinion truth isn't as handsome as love. Truth, by all means is extremely important jusin its own sense but definitely not as powerful.

Loraine F. said...

I agree with Hannah G:

"A political victory, a rise of rents, the recovery of your sick or the return of your absent friend, or some other favorable event rises your spirits, and you think good days are preparing for you. Do not believe it. Nothing can bring you peace but yourself."

From personal experience I know the only person I can rely on for happiness is myself. I love my friends and family but regardless what they say or do I have to believe in myself first before I can even listen to anything they have to say. For example, when I dance I’m am proud of myself and I love who I am. My emotions and thoughts are represented through movement. Dancing is my personal escape. It allows me to ignore all other aspects of life, just as the aphorism stated, and concentrate on what makes ME happy. Unless you've watched me dance, you know NOTHING about me. That’s why it is so important for someone to have confidence in themselves and become independent. They must do whatever it is they have to do in order to satisfy themselves. Once someone has done that, they will realize nothing else matters.

Lara B. said...

“I suppose no man can violate his nature… There will be an agreement in whatever variety of actions, so they be each honest and natural in their hour. For of one will, the actions will be harmonious, however unlike they seem. These varieties are lost sight of at a little distance, at a little height of thought. One tendency unites them all. The voyage of the best ship is a zigzag line of a hundred tacks. See the line from a sufficient distance, and it straightens itself to the average tendency. Your genuine action will explain itself and will explain your other genuine actions. Your conformity explains nothing.”

I like and agree with this quote because it’s true, everyone has there own ideas and thoughts about things, and some might be the same, but fairly often do we think alike. Start with a clean slate; use your “genuine actions” to impress and gain respect from others, but with you “genuine actions” needs to come genuine contemplation, support and persuasion to defend your ideas. Everyone’s different, why not break out and voice opinion on how you feel and think, maybe it can change the outlook for someone, or create new ideas to help better the Earth. Prove yourself, try to step out of your comfort zone, even if it doesn’t work out how you thought, great lessons can be learned from mistakes.

Spencer B said...

Accept the unacceptable. look beyond the norm. What is acceptable to society may not be what was is in your own heart. soul search. then satisfy your soul, when you achieve personal goals you gain the power to perserver.
Emerson explains life's policies right and wrong. It is up to each individual to grasp life in a way that stretches beyond the norm. Don't do things just to be accepted in society- do what is what is right within yourself. Search for the answers others are not looking for.

Margaux L said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Margaux L said...

"Trust thyself; every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events."

I really like this one because to me its just saying that one should just trust oneself and each individual is different in their own way. It also is saying accept where you are and everything that happens in your life. That kind of makes me think of the saying "everything happens for a reason", which I believe is somewhat true. I think everyone has to make their choices which effect everything in their lives. I thought what he said was very honest and i didn't really disagree with anything in particular.

Kaitlyn H. said...

"What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think...It is easy in the world to live after the worlds opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our town; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude"

I liked this quote because he is very strong in his acts and opinions. He is very unique and different and is not a follower of the crowd. The first part of this quote is my favorite because he is right. What one does shouldn't have to be a problem for other people. People are always busy butting into others lives like they do and Emerson is stating that it is easy to go with the flow that everyone else does but the man that keeps his independence from people...is the great man.