The Concord Transcendentalists

The Concord Transcendentalists were a group of 19th-century American thinkers centered around Concord, Massachusetts, who believed in the importance of intuition, spiritual insight, and the innate goodness of people. They emphasized individualism, self-reliance, and a deep connection with nature as ways to understand truth beyond empirical science. Key figures like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau sought to transcend material concerns and institutional authority, advocating for personal spiritual growth and harmony with the natural world. Their ideas influenced American philosophy, literature, and the broader movement of Transcendentalism, promoting a more introspective and idealistic view of life.