Transcendentalism Through The Political Thought Of Emerson Thoreau And Fuller Essay Example for Free

Transcendentalism Through The Political Thought Of Emerson Thoreau And Fuller Essay During the early to middle years of the nineteenth century, American transcendentalism was born. The term transcendental came from German philosopher Immanuel Kant. He criticizes John Locke, who claimed that knowledge comes through our sensual impressions of the world. Kant feels as though the mind has intuitions of itself that he called transcendental forms. He said that all intuitive thought is transcendental. (The Transcendentalist, 1842) Transcendentalism has a lot of meanings but over time it has essentially remained the same. A 1913 Webster’s Dictionary described transcendentalism as claiming â€Å"to have a true knowledge of all things, material and immaterial, human and divine, so far as the mind is capable of knowing them. It is also sometimes used for that which is vague and illusive in philosophy. † (Webster Dictionary, 1913) Today transcendentalism has furthered its meaning to â€Å"a philosophy which says that thought and spiritual things are more real than ordinary human experience and material things. † (Merriam-Webster, n. d. ) Cliffnotes describes it as: â€Å"A religious, literary, and philosophical movement in New England between 1836, when Emerson published Nature, and 1844, when The Dial — the publishing entity of the transcendental movement — ceased publication. Influenced by Unitarianism, transcendentalists denied the existence of miracles, preferring a Christianity that rested on the teachings of Christ and not on his deeds. They experimented with communal living and supported educational innovation, the abolitionist and feminist movements, and the reform of the church and society, generally. New England transcendentalists were committed to intuition as a way of knowing, to individualism, and to a belief in the divinity of humans and nature. † (Charles Mignon H. Rose, Glossary, n. d. ) Transcendentalism is so much more than these simple definitions. Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the leaders of the movement, developed a whole essay on explaining the movement and even further discussed it in many of his other writings. In The Transcendentalist, Emerson first describes transcendentalism as idealism, the idealism of 1842. He considers people as either materialists or idealists. â€Å"Materialism is the philosophical belief that all human events and conditions depend upon material objects and their interrelationships; sensory perception is the key to learning. † (Charles Mignon H. Rose, Glossary, n. d. ) Materialists see things as they are and except them for that. Materialist can become Idealists but Idealists can never become materialists. â€Å"Idealism is the philosophical assumption that material objects do not exist independently of human perception. † (Charles Mignon H. Rose, Glossary, n. d. ) Idealists are founded on consciousness. They believe that things go beyond the senses, the senses represent things but they can’t tell you what these things are. They insist on the power of thought, will, inspiration, miracles and individual culture. They believe their way of thinking is in higher nature. They see events as spirits. (The Transcendentalist, 1842) They can see a chair and look beyond it being just a chair. They see the spiritual aspect of it. Once they do recognize the many possibilities of a spiritual life, they continue to seek after this transcending state. â€Å"The Transcendentalist adopts the whole connection of spiritual doctrine. He believes in miracle, in the perpetual openness of the human mind to new influx of light and power; he believes in inspiration, and in ecstasy. He wishes that the spiritual principle should be suffered to demonstrate itself to the end, in all possible applications to the state of man, without the admission of anything unspiritual; that is, anything positive, dogmatic, personal. Thus, the spiritual measure of inspiration is the depth of the thought, and never, who said it? And so he resists all attempts to palm other rules and measures on the spirit than its own. † (The Transcendentalist, 1842) Idealists see the how the mind process our senses as more important than the senses themselves. They see our existence as subjective. They judge only according to their values and measure according to their values. Their main focus is the individual. They feel as though individuals should focus on fixing their moral character rather than focusing on the world as a whole. It makes more sense for everyone to fix themselves because if each individual changes him or herself then the world as a whole will eventually change. Transcendentalism proposes that human nature is good and the individual will seek good but society is to blame for corruption. Therefore the individual should focus on themselves. (Campbell, 1997) Emerson believes the idealists or transcendentalist should be self-dependent. He feels as though â€Å"it is simpler to be self-dependent. The height, the deity of man is, to be self-sustained, to need no gift, no foreign force. † (The Transcendentalist, 1842) The transcendentalists should be self-absorbed. Transcendentalists have an antisocial character. â€Å"They are lonely; the spirit of their writing and conversation is lonely; they repel influences; they shun general society; they incline to shut themselves in their chamber in the house, to live in the country rather than in the town, and to find their tasks and amusements in solitude. † (The Transcendentalist, 1842) They withdraw from society because they have difficulty relating to people who aren’t as spiritual, intelligent and idealistic as themselves. They are perfectionists who believe human life is flawed so they prefer to be in solitary with nature or a book rather than common people. Emerson criticizes this solitary nature. If they don’t use their gifts to benefit society then society won’t be able to reach the idealist mindset and way of life. They also waste their gift when they don’t allow society to learn from them. (The Transcendentalist, 1842) This paper will take into account each definition and characteristic of the Transcendentalist and Transcendentalism through the works of some of the major leaders during the movement. This paper will explore the religious aspect of the movement through the works of the former Unitarian minister, Ralph Waldo Emerson. The political aspect of the movement will be explored through the works of the naturalist, Henry David Thoreau. The paper will conclude with the feminist and social reform aspect of the movement through the works of Margaret Fuller. Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, poet and Unitarian minister who became one of the first American authors to influence European thought. He was born in Boston, MA on May 25, 1803. Seven of his ancestors were ministers and his father was also a minister. By the age of eighteen, Emerson was graduating from Harvard and taught school in Boston for three years. He then went on to Harvard Divinity School and a year later was approbated to preach by the Middlesex Association of Ministers. In a matter of four years he had become the minister of the Second Church of Boston and married Ellen Tucker, who unfortunately died seventeen months later. In 1832, Emerson resigned as a pastor because he felt as though the Lord’s Supper should not be a permanent sacrament. He then went on to England and stayed for some time. He returned to Massachusetts in 1833 and became an active lecturer. (Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2014, 1p. ) By 1836, Emerson had published his most detailed statement of belief in his first published book, Nature. He starts the book discussing the currents of the Universal Being that circulate through him making him part God or a piece of God. This is what transcendentalism is mostly about, the belief in the divinity of the human and nature. Through the universal being everything in nature is linked, including humans. Nature’s spirit expresses itself through us and creates a unity between God, spirit and humanity. Nature rewards the noble and those who perform good deeds. Therefore a person would have to be righteous in order to enjoy the beauty nature beholds. In chapter four he discusses how nature and language relate. Words are signs of natural facts and history that helps us understand supernatural history. The language people use to communicate is supplied by nature. A river represents the passage of time. The change of seasons represents the stages of growth. He then goes on to discuss how nature and human law have merged together, yet we still try to distinguish them. You can even see this today with the separation of church and state. In chapter five he discusses reason. Nature is a moral teacher and reason helps to offer ethical and spiritual insights to nature. Reason is linked to intuition, which as previously stated is transcendental. Though according to idealism, nature is something experienced and distinct from us. (Nature, 124-157, 1836) A couple years later in 1838, Emerson further discusses his views on religion in his Divinity School Address. He first discusses the intimate relationship between God and man; the unity of God, humans, and nature. Religion can only truly be achieved when man recognizes their direct access with God and realize that religion and virtue can only be understood from within. There is no mediator between man and God. Man can go directly to God. Since God is perfect man can also become perfect because of that access they have to him. Many denominations of the Christian religion teach the human to aim to be like Jesus, in doing so the person is just like Jesus and develops that perfection identified with Jesus. The moment you stray from this virtue that God and nature gives you, you’re instantly aware of it. It’s like what modern Christianity would call conviction. You feel convicted and suffer the consequences but you strive to be so much like Jesus that you correct the wrong and get back on track. Jesus was the only example of someone who understood the divine nature of mankind because he was sent being used by God as an example for men. (The Divinity School Address, 230-245, 1836) Throughout the Divinity School Address, Emerson criticizes second hand religion. He believes it makes the church stationary. There’s no room for reform when you offer people a religion with a fixed body of beliefs, principles, scriptures and rites. As many of his writings tell you, he is a strong advocate for the individual. Personal religion, the understanding of religion through the individual and intuitive insight is what he calls for. The individual needs to understand the religion for himself and apply his own intuitive interpretation but be careful not to change the traditions of the old church. (The Divinity School Address, 230-245, 1836) â€Å"I confess, all attempts to project and establish a Cultus with new rites and forms, seem to me vain. Faith makes us, and not we it, and faith makes its own forms. All attempts to contrive a system are as cold as the new worship introduced by the French to the goddess of Reason, — to-day, pasteboard and fillagree, and ending to-morrow in madness and murder. Rather let the breath of new life be breathed by you through the forms already existing. For, if once you are alive, you shall find they shall become plastic and new. The remedy to their deformity is, first, soul, and second, soul, and evermore, soul. † (The Divinity School Address, 244, 1836) Rather use the Sabbath and preaching to keep the religion alive and fresh. The preacher has to have intuitive perception to teach and give life to religion. â€Å"The spirit only can teach†¦only he can give, who has; he only can create, who is. The man on whom the soul descends, through whom the soul speaks, alone can teach. Courage, piety, love, wisdom, can teach. † (The Divinity School Address, 238, 1836) It is the preacher’s job to restore the soul of his congregation by helping them realize that direct access they have to God. He must also be living proof of the word he proclaims. The people should know the life he lives so that they can know how individual spirituality can coexist with experience. â€Å"The true preacher can be known by this, that he deals out to the people his life, — life passed through the fire of thought. † (The Divinity School Address, 239, 1836) For Emerson and all transcendentalists, religion is vastly important. This movement is known for its religious aspects. Quite a few of the followers of this movement were ministers. For them religion should be sacred between the human, God and nature. They should take advantage of their direct relationship with God and use it to keep their Christianity fresh and alive. Through the righteousness one receives from this direct relationship, will come blessings from nature and they will be able to behold the beauty of nature. Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau was born on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts to a socially conscious Scottish mother and a French pioneer manufacturer father. Thoreau eventually went to Harvard College and graduated in 1837. A year later he set up a school with his brother John where he taught Latin, Greek and science until 1841 when his brother got sick. A year after his brother’s death in 1842, Thoreau moved to Staten Island to be a tutor for Emerson’s brother, William. He would also do handy work around the house. Eventually he met Emerson and lived with him and his wife doing handy work. Emerson used that time to influence him to be a part of the transcendentalist movement. In 1849, Thoreau publishes Civil Disobedience. In this writing he criticizes American politics. He wrote this during the time of slavery and the Mexican-American war. Thoreau â€Å"heartily accepts the motto, ‘That government is best which governs least;’ and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe, ‘That government is best which governs not at all’. † (Civil Disobedience, 357, 1849) He feels as though an unjust government that allows for slavery and aggressive war is useless. He is also critical of democracy. Democracy puts forth a government that is given power from the majority to make laws beneficial to the majority. They don’t necessarily have the most legitimate viewpoint but they do have the most power. Therefore citizens are obligated to not follow the law because it is morally wrong. They must do what is right and distance themselves from government. Thoreau isn’t advocating for government to go away, he just wants a better government. Democracy was brought about to ensure individual freedom but yet it has intervened in the lives of many individuals and taken away the exact freedom it was meant to protect. â€Å"But a government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice, even as far as men understand it. † (Civil Disobedience, 358, 1849) Majority rule isn’t based on justice. He proposes the ruling of individual conscience. Rulers should be moral. Since they are not, he advocates for rebellion. Thoreau in his own action refused to pay taxes and spent a night in jail. He refused to participate in government. He believed that the individual should not comply with unjust laws. They must break the law, if necessary. Expressing your opposition to slavery is not enough you must act on this objection. He calls for a peaceful revolution by nonpayment of taxes and not being afraid to take the prison time. â€Å"Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison. † (Civil Disobedience, 370, 1849) He feels as though prison is the only place a just man can â€Å"abide with honor. † (Civil Disobedience, 370, 1849) Throughout his essay, like many of Emerson’s works, he is an advocate for the individual. The individual has a responsibility to live his own life according to his morals and regard society as secondary. â€Å"There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly. † He feels as though the government should only touch or put a law on what the individual allows it to. He praises the progress of America from an absolute monarchy to a limited monarchy and now a democracy but feels as though it shouldn’t stop there. He feels as though there needs to be a government where the individual is valued more and have a say in what affects them personally. Not a government where the majority rules and the minority is left to fend for themselves. Over time Thoreau becomes fed up with the law. In 1854, he delivers a more radical and violent speech, Slavery in Massachusetts. He is calling for people to fight and murder the state. â€Å"Who can be serene in a country where both the rulers and the ruled are without principle? The remembrance of my country spoils my walk. My thoughts are murder to the State, and involuntarily go plotting against her. † (Slavery in Massachusetts, Line 49, 1854) In a Plea for Captain Brown he speaks on revenge of him and the slave. He is now calling for the individual to not only resist but have its revenge on the state. Thoreau is not a big fan of government. He is appreciative of the government for changing from an absolute monarchy to a limited government and then a democracy but he is waiting for the day where the government that governs least or not at all, unless the individual requests it, will come. A government in which the majority rules is unjust because it only benefits the majority and enslaves the minority. Therefore the individual must resist no fight, no take revenge. As matters got worse, Thoreau became more violent and radical. Emerson was also an abolitionist who criticized the government for not recognizing the divine nature of the individual. He argued for lesser government and a minimization of the power they have. He didn’t approve of the government not allowing equal rights for all individuals, including women. (Politics, 1849) Sarah Margaret Fuller Sarah Margaret Fuller was born on May 23, 1810 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was educated by her American lawyer father. At an early age she displayed noticeably intellectual powers and became a member of the group of distinguished writers and philosophers who believed in transcendentalism. From 1835 to 1837 she taught languages in Boston and later became principal of a school in Rhode Island. In 1840 she founded The Dial, a periodical on transcendentalism, with Emerson and later met Thoreau who became an editor. In 1839, she washeavily involved in a women’s movement for intellectual and s ocial development, where she received her material for Women in the Nineteenth Century/ The Great Lawsuit. Man versus Men. Woman versus Women. (Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2014, 1p) In this work Fuller is advocating for the equal rights of women and abolition of slavery. Both movements were essentially the same they were both looking to have the same rights as the majority. Though Fuller went about it a different way. She didn’t just want the right to vote, equal pay and etc. She wanted the same self-reliance that a man was able to have. For she felt as though her soul was no different from a man’s soul. Everyone has a soul. If men gave women more intellectual and spiritual freedom, both genders could benefit as a whole. She is bringing forth a lawsuit on the behalf of women. Essentially suing the government for not allowing women to have the rights they are due. This piece allowed her room to bring forth a case to prove transcendentalism as an indeterminate sex and spiritually aware democracy. She also wanted to show them that they wrong in not offering women education. A woman can write a lawsuit. She was asserting Emerson’s self-reliance spiritual regeneration, the soul being genderless and a different conception of women. She did this in the form of a lawsuit to prove that she could do anything society deemed as only for men. She didn’t see either sex as greater than the other. She felt that one could not develop without the help of the other. (The Great Lawsuit. Man versus Men. Woman versus Women. , 384-423, 1843) Fuller argued that for a Woman to correct natural law she needs to be educated and have access to employment and politics. Women’s rights were vital to America. She argued that â€Å"all men are created equal. † (Declaration of Independence, 1776) The problem with this argument is that when the founders created the Declaration of Independence it was evident that they didn’t consider all men, women, or minorities as considered equal. They were advocating for the minority. Thus she does say that if it’s a law for the nation then it should be a law for all that inhabits the nation. â€Å"Though the national independence be blurred by the servility of individuals; though freedom and equality have been proclaimed only to leave room for a monstrous display of slave dealing and slave keeping; though the free American so often feels himself free†¦still it is not in vain, that the verbal statement has been made, All men are born free and equal. There it stands, a golden certainty, wherewith to encourage the good, to shame the bad. The new world may be called clearly to perceive that it incurs the utmost penalty, if it rejects the sorrowful brother†¦It is inevitable that an external freedom, such as has been achieved for the nation, should be so also for every member of it It has become a law, irrevocable†¦ Men will privately sin against it, but the law so clearly expressed by a leading mind of the age, All made in the likeness of the One, All children of one ransom, In whatever hour, in whatever part of the soil We draw this vital air, We are brothers, we must be bound by one compact, Accursed he who infringes it, Who raises himself upon the weak who weep, Who saddens an immortal spirit cannot fail of universal recognition. † (The Great Lawsuit. Man versus Men. Woman versus Women. ,389-390, 1843) Fuller calls for a refreshing of the American political culture through the transcendentalists concept of self-reliance. Emerson’s transcendentalist view on self- reliance calls for the individual to apply their own conscience view on everything they see. She also calls the government out for violating natural law by hindering Americans from the liberty and equality they were promised. She says they need a moral law instead. Through transcendentalism they get this moral law when the individual is worried about the individual and does what is best for himself according to his values. (Self-Reliance, 318-339, 1841) Her way of going about getting the revolution that she wanted, was through a peaceful revolution advocating for equality through a spiritually aware, sexless democracy. She hoped it would lead to equality among genders and change the status quo of American Politics. If she could make the government see the wrong in gender discrimination then she could open their eyes to the evil of slavery. This could only be accomplished through divine law. Sarah Margaret Fuller was a woman denied the right of education yet she was surrounded by men that she was able to learn from. Her male counterparts not only taught her but learned from her. She used the ideas of both Emerson and Thoreau to fight against both feminism and slavery. The movements were very much so alike and many of the arguments she made applied to both. The one thing about her is that she not only was an advocate for transcendentalism but also a sexless society. She felt as though no gender, race or being was better than the other. Conclusion Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Sarah Margaret Fuller were the main leaders of the transcendentalist movement. Together and apart they raised issues and were a voice for the unheard. They all advocated for the individual to change themselves and worry about society second. If every individual changed himself then they wouldn’t have to worry about society because eventually society would change as a result of everyone becoming idealists. Ralph Waldo Emerson took a European movement and made it American. Transcendentalism started in Europe but Emerson made it an American response to romanticism. (The Role of Transcendentalism in Shaping American Cultural Ideology, 248, 2013) Emerson is a strong believer in the divinity of human, nature and God. Through God everything is linked. Nature supplies language and reason gives us the knowledge to understand the spirituality and beauty of nature. Humans also have direct access to God and should use it. Even when they stray from the virtue that they are given by God and nature they can come back because they are directly connected to God. Even the modern Bible says, â€Å"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. † (Holy Bible, Romans 3:23) Emerson is also a former minister of the Unitarian church. Unitarians believe in seven basic principles: (1) The inherent worth and dignity of every person; (2) Justice, equity and compassion in human relations; (3)Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations; (4) A free and responsible search for truth and meaning; (5) The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large; (6) The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all; (7) Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. (http://www. uua. org/beliefs/what- we-believe/principles) While you can see this evident in many of Emerson’s works, he is a critic of second hand religion that passes down a fixed body of beliefs, principles, scriptures and rites. This makes religion stationary to him. He feels as though the individual should interpret the religion in a righteous way without rewriting the religion. He also advocates for the Sabbath and preaching to remain fresh so the religion does as well. Henry David Thoreau seems to be the most radical of the three. His earlier works suggest a nonviolent man being imprisoned for standing up to what he believes his wrong. Overtime he becomes an advocate for a slave rebellion. Thoreau feels as though as the times change and are getting worse, the slave should strike back. His works have inspired people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Just like Thoreau, MLK Jr went from nonviolent protests to making claims such as: â€Å"I will continue to condemn riots, and continue to say to my brothers and sisters that this is not the way. And continue to affirm that there is another way. But at the same time, it is as necessary for me to be as vigorous in condemning the conditions which cause persons to feel that they must engage in riotous activities as it is for me to condemn riots. I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air. Certain conditions continue to exist in our society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. † (The Other America, 1968) A nonviolent person tends to get more radical when they see that matters are getting worse instead of better. Over time they get fed up and grow weary. It’s hard to accept all that violent people are throwing at you and still remain nonviolent. It’s hard to watch people be treated less than what the law allows because they’re not the skin color of the majority that is making the rules. Thoreau is a harsh critic of the American government. Sarah Margaret Fuller takes on this criticism as well when she criticizes government for oppressing the people who are beneficial to the future of America. One of these transcendentalists even go as far as saying that America will become the laughing stock of nations across the world because it supposedly has a government run by the people yet enslaves its people. If you look at the contributions women and minorities have made to the American society, you can see just how crucial we all are to the American Dream. Fuller is saying that all men can’t be created equal and yet be treated less than the white man. We are all equal. There is no such thing as men being superior to men or white men being superior to all. Women can do just as much as men can do. If the government were to create its laws based on morals then we can have a just society. If they also allow for women to be educated and involved in the political realm they would see just how important women are. Through this research transcendentalism has proved itself to be a religious, literary, philosophical movement advocating for the individual. The individual has all the power it needs through the divine relationship it has with its God. The individual has to change themselves before they can even worry about society. The individual has the intellect and moral obligation to go against the evils of society, not to conform and be self-sufficient. Through transcendentalism Emerson, Thoreau, and Fuller inspired people around the world in the abolition movement, politics, religions, feminist movement and even many of their counterparts in the transcendentalist movement. It also helped to open the eyes of many during the nineteenth century and pave the way for the coming generation. Bibliography Charles Mignon H. Rose. N. d. Summary and Analysis of The Transcendentalist Glossary. (Cliffnotes) http://www. cliffsnotes. com/literature/e/emersons-essays/summary-and-analysis-of- the-transcendentalist/glossary. (Accessed May 4, 2015) Terminology N. d. Defining Transcendentalism. http://www. transcendentalists. com/terminology. html. (Accessed May 4, 2015) Emerson, Ralph Waldo. 1838. â€Å"The Divinity School Address† Transcendentalism: A Reader (Oxford University Press, December 2000): 230-245. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. 1836. â€Å"Nature. † Transcendentalism: A Reader (Oxford University Press, December 2000): 124-157. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. 18. â€Å"Politics. † Ralph Waldo Emerson Texts. http://www. emersoncentral. com/politics. htm. (Accessed May 4, 2015) Emerson, Ralph Waldo. 1841. â€Å"Self-Reliance† Transcendentalism: A Reader (Oxford University Press, December 2000): 318-339. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. 1841. â€Å"The Transcendentalist† Transcendentalism: A Reader (Oxford University Press, December 2000): 366-380. Fuller, Sarah Margaret. 1843. â€Å"The Great Lawsuit. Man versus Men. Woman versus women. † Transcendentalism: A Reader (Oxford University Press, December 2000): 383-422. Fuller, Sarah Margaret. 1845. â€Å"Woman in the Nineteenth Century. † American Transcendentalism Web. http://transcendentalism-legacy. tamu. edu/authors/fuller/woman1. html (Accessed May 4, 2015) Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. 2014. â€Å"Emerson, Ralph Waldo† Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (World Book, Inc. , Chicago): 1. Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. 2014. â€Å"Fuller, (Sarah) Margaret† Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (World Book, Inc., Chicago): 1. Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. 2014. â€Å"Transcendentalism† Funk Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (World Book, Inc. , Chicago): 1. Henry David Thoreau. (2015). The Biography. com website. http://www. biography. com/people/henry-david-thoreau-9506784. (Accessed May 05, 2015) Kellman, Steven G. 2014. â€Å"Henry David Thoreau† Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia. King Jr. , Martin Luther. 1968. â€Å"The Other America. † http://www. crmvet. org/docs/otheram. htm. (Accessed May 6, 2015). Paul. N. d. â€Å"Romans 3:23† The Holy Bible (NIV) Rus, Dana. 2013. The Role of Transcendentalism in Shaping American Cultural Ideology. (Communication Mass Media Complete, EBSCOhost) Thoreau, Henry David. 1849. â€Å"Civil Disobedience. † Transcendentalism: A Reader (Oxford University Press, December 2000): 546-564. Thoreau, Henry David. 1859. â€Å"A Plea for Captain Brown. † Transcendentalism: A Reader (Oxford University Press, December 2000): 628-646. Thoreau, Henry David. 1854. â€Å"Slavery in Massachusetts. † Transcendentalism: A Reader (Oxford University Press, December 2000): 602-614. Unitarian Universalist Association. N. d. â€Å"Our Unitarian Universalist Principles† http://www. uua. org/beliefs/what-we-believe/principles. (Accessed May 6, 2015).

Overview Of The Business Planning Process Business Essay

Overview Of The Business Planning Process Business Essay Subway chain is the third largest fast food chain in the world after McDonalds and KFC. The first Subway was founded in 1965. The founder of the Subway chain, Fred De Luca, started running his restaurant business when he was only 17 years old. The first Subway restaurant was opened nine years after its foundation in Connecticut where the headquarter is now situated in Subway Denmark. Now there are more than 30,000 Subway restaurants in 88 countries worldwide and it is the worlds fastest growing franchise chain. New Subway restaurants are opening all the time. The franchise chain has employed more than 150,000 people. (Subway 2009) Subway offers customers many different kinds of fresh submarine sandwiches also called subs. Customers always decide how they want their sandwiches to be served. Subways advertising is based on freshness. Slogan Eat Fresh tells that Subway chain uses only freshly baked bread and fresh ingredients. Subway has a lot of competitors for example McDonalds, Burger King. (wikipedia) Terms and reference This report was written at the request of Guillermo Merelo our Organisation and Management tutor, to investigate and analyse management in organisation in the context of current management theory. Scope and Methodology The report considers a range of organisation issues, researching key aspects of management within the organisation. The organisation structure and processes are analysed and evaluated in relation to current theory. There are two types of sources which are related with the research of assessment. Primary These are the major sources in this all the interviews related with the assessment are coming. Secondary The information getting from the internet and books come under the secondary sources. Executive summary Type and Size of the organisation The subway which situated in the Mangere is owned by the owner Trung Keue. Total 6 employees are working in the store and they are well trained as well as doing the proper job with great and excellent skills of customer service. Organisation structure The Subway has a very simple organisation structure so the business can be run smoothly and effectively. All the jobs are assigned to the staff and everybody knows where they should report. Company has frontline staff to serve the customers and managers to manage the business. Environmental factors For a company it is important to know the market it is operating in. Knowing the possibilities for entering the market and the potential customers are vital. Furthermore it is a good idea to look at the macro environmental factors that are influencing the market. To get a better knowledge about a market, the following main question is asked: How attractive is the market for fast food? Planning and controlling Every planning process goes through a series of stages.   In essence the aim is to complete each of the following steps: Analyse the external environment Analyse the internal environment Define the business and mission Set corporate objectives Formulate strategies Make tactical plans C:UsersfriendsDesktopdownload.jpg Team structure and dynamics As the subway is the fast food restaurant business so there are 6 to 8 family members are the backbone of the company as well as company has some of full time and some of part time staff to help them in business. All staff is personally trained by the owner so the best customer service can be provided. And company want the front line staff to attend every single customer when arrive in the store. Leadership There are some types which a company wants to see his/her as a team leader. As per good leader, there are some key elements which every team leader should have, which are following as:-responsible, motivate and well co-operate. 2.1 Type and Size of the organisation 2.1 a Findings: Subway follows the informal structure as the company always welcome the views and the ideas of all their staff. As company is small, it has small team of staff members. By adopting this structure all the seniors in the company can interact with the frontline staff and the managers as well easily and effectively. As frontline staff is the best medium that can pass the customer opinion to the senior level so business can do changes as per the customer requirement and the demand to get the maximum profit with the customer satisfaction. All the staff feel more confident and feel like a team and do their best to achieve the company target. All the staff members meet on regular basis and share their experience and views. 2.1 b. Analysis According to me the subway is one of the well reputed organisations among the food courts because it is operated by the American Doctors Association maybe thats why the subway got more popularity among people around the world. Moreover, the total numbers of staff are sufficient if they are well trained and organised by the owner. Because the workers working in the subway they are skilled workers as well as they do a lot of work and facing new challenges at their workplace every day. Subway makes fresh and healthy sandwiches on the demand of their customers. Moreover, for the satisfaction and the trust of the customer staff prepare the sandwich in front of the customer as per their demands and suggestions. In my views subway has to provide the different dresses to crew and manager so that everyone can see the difference among them. Furthermore, because of growing fresh food industry, people are now more preferring to subway restaurant than other fast food industries. 2.2 Organisation Structure 2.2 a Findings Team The subway restaurant management system consists of two basic parts. For each component of the organisation there is a manager who keeps on eyes all the activities which employers are doing and the employer only report to the manager. Subway is using both the organisation structures traditional and modern as well, it does depend on the situation. Any of the complaint directly goes to the head office and it go through the phone and internet. Subway restaurant has different department for different purpose like development, and finance. The team working in the subway restaurant they are doing their work very effectively. They always report each other and if any problem arrives then they solve together. Time by time the subway offers to the customer different type of cheap deals of food which affordable for the customers. Actually the association work too effectively they always keep in mind the customer demand and what type of food they like as well as they also keep in mind the both kind of people vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Customer A company needs to know who its customers are. To know the target group and its preferences can be a huge advantage. Knowing this would make it easier to make decisions concerning products, service and promotion. Structure Organizational structure characterized by (1) Flatness: communications and interactions are horizontal, (2) Low specialization: knowledge resides wherever it is most useful. Organic organizations are comparatively more complex and harder to form, but are highly adaptable, flexible, and more suitable where external environment is rapidly changing and is unpredictable. (Adrian Kwan) 2.2 b Analysis According to my views the subway restaurant has flat structure. A flat organisation will have few layers or just one layer of management. This means that the Chain of Command from top to bottom is short. Span of control refers to the number of employees that each manager is responsible for. If a manager has lots of employees reporting to them, their span of control is said to be wide. A manager with a small number of direct reports has a narrow span of control. Due to the small number of management layers, flat organisations are often small organisations. The structure of the organisation: Flat Organisational Structure Diagram Instead of this there is no difference in the looking of manager and the workers. In the organisation manager should always look different in dress than workers then the customers easily find who the manager is and if they got any issue then they can complaint him. If any employer doing any mistake or customer service is not good then the complaint should reach till the manager or the owner of franchisee but instead of this customer complaint directly go to headquarter. 2.3 Environmental factors 2.3 a Findings External factors The external factors is outside influences on the business. Various factors can impact on the business to get its goal. These factors are social, legal and technology changes. The external factors which impact on the subway restaurants are: Social-  The social impact is that how consumers, households and communities behave against the organisation. For instance, changes in attitude towards health, or a greater number of pensioners in a population. Legal-The legal effect is in which way legislation in society affects the business. E.g. changes in employment laws on working hours. Economical-  How the economy affects a business in terms of taxation, government spending, general demand, interest rates, exchange rates and European and global economic factors. Political-  How changes in government policy might affect the business e.g. a decision to subsidise building new houses in an area could be good for a local brick works. Technological-How the rapid pace of change in production processes and product innovation affect a business. Ethical- what is regarded as morally right or wrong for a business to do. For instance should it trade with countries which have a poor record on human rights? (tutor 2 u) Internal factors The inner factors belong to strength and weakness of the organisation. The internal factors strongly affect that how company meet its objective and goal. The internal factors come under: Staffing-The Subway restaurant care of all the staff members. The company treat their staff as a family so they can feel confident and secure in the company. The company always try to minimise the dispute between any of the staff member but even if anything happen, the owner of the subway restaurant always try to resolve the matter within the organisation. Training- Staff training is very important for any organisation. In the first two weeks the subway owner provide the specific training to the new employer as well as if he dont understand everything in the two week period of time then the manager give him more time to understand the task because the organisation objectives and goal stand on the excellent service. Product Quality Quality is the main part for all the business especially when dealing with food industry and the owner of the subway restaurant knows that very well that to get the goal of the organisation the best quality product is the best and easy way for the organisation. The managers of subway restaurant always tell the employee about the quality of the product such as: bread, salads and other meat product. Because the subway restaurant motto prefer to the eat fresh and its the rule of the every subway restaurant that they will provide all the fresh vegetables and meat as well as if any product find by the investigation team then they give the warning once after the store can be out of competition. Safety There are some safety rules the employees are following during the work time. They always wear the gloves while they are serving the customer and the big thing is no one can use the same gloves second time because if they will use the same gloves for the next customer then it can be the cause of food reaction and some time customer are eating vegetarian some of them dont like non-vegetarian so the employee always keep in mind the safety for the customers and themselves. The another thing while the closing time at night they always put the sign wet floor when they clean the floor and if they will not then maybe they have to face heaps of problems. 2.3 b Analysis According to my views Subway restaurant is the well organised fast food organisation and there are others in the market like McDonalds, Burger King, and KFC as competitors. Because of other fast food restaurants subway decreases the sale and customers. Other food restaurants provide the food in fewer prices thats why most of the majority of customer attract to them. Subway is too expensive against them and they should decrease the price and make them under the pocket of people because people are not happy to spend lot money. Moreover they should give the special discount to the regular customer and then it will help a lot to make or attract the new customers. Further if any customer complaining about the product or the service they should give him free foot long sub or whatever customer need. Apart from this subway restaurant provide same deals for long time. They should change their menu according to the demands of customer. The best way is to get the feedback from the visitors and then improve the way of service. 2.4 Planning and Control system 2.4 a Findings Planning and controlling system is the main and difficult part for the every organisation. Its depending on the owner of the organisation how he will set the strategic plan to achieve the goal. The planning chart goes through like this: Overview of the business planning process Effective business planning has to begin with an honest and realistic appraisal of the current position of the business.   The formal term for this is situational analysis and there are several planning tools and methods which are helpful in putting the analysis together. The true purpose of situational analysis is to determine which opportunities to pursue: PEST analysis    it is a useful tool for any business to understand the big picture of the environment in which you are operating. By understanding your environment, you can take advantage of the opportunities and minimize the threats. SWOT Analysis The major source to find any of the problems in the organisation is swot analysis. It show the what are the cause that business going down or losing its sale. There are four elements of swot: C:UsersfriendsDesktop1268846750fRcf1x.jpg Strength There are number of food restaurants in the market and make the space in the market place its too difficult and subway restaurants trying their best to make the best space in the market thats why now a days they are providing numbers of meal to the customers. Weakness The main part of every organisation is their employee it depending on them how far they will achieve their goals. The subway restaurant team members always keep in mind to give an excellent service to customer. Moreover its the first part of their duty to serve the customer nice and well. Opportunities The opportunities give the more advantage to the organisation to achieve their goals. Its show what are the possibilities to make the better place in the market against other organisation. Threats There are numbers of problems comes while any businesses take place in the market. The major is the finance. Now a days establish a business is not easy its too hard for everyone and if anyone opening the business then its second thing comes in front that how far it will successful. Benefits of planning: Manage risk planning for the future provides an organisation with an external focus and can help identify potential risks for the organisation, highlighting your weaknesses and alert you to future dangers. Motivate your staff Thinking strategically or long-term provides the opportunity to look back at past successes and celebrate what you do well. Recognition of such achievements will not only encourage staff to make future improvements. Be creative Bringing everyone together to talk about the future of the organisation often helps to develop and stimulate new ideas, working out how to do things better, improve on past performance and seek to deliver sustainable services into the future. Improve corporations It helps to all company to work together in a teams and all gives their best in every task. All company staff corporate with each other in any stage and helps each others. 2.4 a Analysis In my views the planning should be in long term period of time and in the research it found that subway restaurant have no any long term planning that what they will do. Even the employees are just coming to do their task and they are not giving their any views to the owner or manager. Other thing is the manager is not behaving well with the employees. So they keep on leave the job and when they hire the new worker then they spend the more than two or three week to train him. Apart from this they are not doing the group task. During the work if they are doing anything wrong then they are not thinking what is the impact of the mistake on the business and its found that during the shift the manager did rude behaviour with the customer because of that subway restaurant lost the customer as well as reputation. The owner should well organise the team and divided their task and other thing the manager not doing his task and he putting the burden on the employees. Furthermore the controlling system is not well the workers going to finish their job what time they want even they not inform to owner. There should be the proper system of controlling. They should ensure that the right thing happening in the right way and at the right time. 2.5 Team structure and dynamics 2.5 a Findings Subway Organization is collections of people. Within these groups, there are many separate teams created for specific purposes. Individuals might be on a single team, or multiple teams. By doing this, it improve productivity quality. Formal or informal:- The formal group is the  deliberate  and  systematic  grouping of people in an organization so that organizational goals are better achieved. It means that the total no. of people working in this business is divided into smaller groups and each group is responsible for fulfilling a task which would ultimately contribute to fulfilling the organizations goal. This increases the efficiency of the organization. Roles of individual in a group:- Makes sure that job is done by given time limits They keep in mind the group works and the task Makes sure that everyone knows what they are supposed to do. Assists the ones who need help Gives different suggestions Ensures that everyone has understood and is able to pass the created information forward Makes sure that everyone is able to do his/her tasks Asks critical but constructive questions Encourages everyone to do their best Gives credit for good ideas or good jobs and also reward them if they have done well. Invites shy or silent workers to contribute Gets all the needed materials and tools and takes care of them Organises the environment suitable for effective work and teamwork 2.4 b Analysis Structure helps to define the tasks and responsibilities, workers role and relationship and channel of communication that exist within an organisation but in the subway there is no proper system to maintain the group task. If the worker dont know how to do the job then they should give him proper training and there should be batch on his t-shirt that this worker is under the training. Nobody understand the importance of the team structure and they miss use their job position as well as if anyone is not doing the proper job then instead of tell him the other workers always try to put him down that is the bigger thing happening in the subway. 2.6 Leadership 2.6 a Findings A simple  definition of leadership  is that leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal. A leader is a person who is the one in the group that possesses the leadership skills that makes others want to follow his direction and do the task. The good leader always keep in mind that how he will manage all the things and he always use the specific plan for each task. He always prefers to the team to give their views that how we can achieve our target. He always try to do his best as well as comparing to other workers he always do the extra things and give the time to the employee because he know that the workers are the base of the organisation. 2.6 b Analysis The team leader always know the workers attitude and he working according to them but in subway restaurant the manager of the workers dont know what he has to do. He is not defining the task to his workers and instead of encourage then he always try to show them that he is the best. The main thing he is not discussing the problems with the employees that what type of problems they are facing during the work time and if they are getting then he should try to solve them as good leader. Thank you

Teaching Philosophy :: Education Teachers Essays

Teaching Philosophy I was held back in fourth grade, because my teacher failed to realize that I was struggling. My parents tried everything from money incentives to grounding me until my work was done. Nothing seemed to work with me; I didn’t understand what I was supposed to be learning and no amount of pressuring, grounding, or incentives were going to help. The second time around, my teacher didn’t put as much pressure on me and made the class a little more interesting. The following year, my teacher Mr. Barger, told us on the first day that he’d â€Å"give [us] just enough rope to hang ourselves†. I often found myself in such a position. This teacher is the best teacher I have ever had, because he made the class fun. By the end of the year I was on the B honor roll. It wasn’t until my senior year in high school that I decided I wanted to be a teacher. I realized that I wanted to give something back to the students. I wanted to become the teacher that students would remember for making a difference in their life. I believe that the nature of knowledge is constructed and dependent upon person, place, or time. Knowledge depends upon the teacher’s teaching styles, foundations, and how much time the teacher can allow for certain subjects. With the student, it depends on his/her age, their learning process, and their learning environment. How well he/she does can depend on how much time the teacher spends on the subject. You could have a slow child in a class, but if you spend just a little longer on that math problem they just may get it. You may have a six-teen year old boy who chooses not to learn and goofs off, but if you keep trying to capture his interests he’ll probably come around. The nature of knowledge is relative; it just depends on how much the teacher and the student want to put into it. I believe that public education was established so that all people could get an education.

Immigrant Workers in Phoenix :: Immigration Labor Immigrants Essays Papers

Immigrant Workers in Phoenix Before the sun even rises in Phoenix, out of the closing shadows of night, dark and quiet silhouettes begin to appear. They are the silhouettes of working men who rise before the sun rises, each with the hope of obtaining work and earning money to help support their families. These men are usually assumed to be immigrants without the proper paperwork to work in the United States. They are also better known as day laborers. These so-called â€Å"day laborers† congregate on street corners or in the parking lots of builders’ stores awaiting the arrival of employers who will hire them for a day’s work. Some cities have tried to ban this type of â€Å"recruiting† while others have accepted it as inevitable. In Phoenix alone there are an estimated 2,500 day laborers ready, willing and able to work each and every day that stand on street corners hoping and praying they will be picked up by someone to work. Some days their prayers are answered and on others they are not. Before September 11, 2001, you saw them everywhere – in hard hats on construction sites, working as landscapers, painters and just about anything else one can imagine. Today, these migrant workers are struggling under a sputtering economy and the harsh glare of the escalating U.S. homeland security system. To add even more problems to their already full plate, the immigration service in Phoenix is warning contractors against hiring undocumented day laborers. The warnings are taking a toll on many laborers in north Phoenix who had been getting constant work. â€Å"I’ve worked only two days since last week† said Ruben Fuentes, a native of Tijuana. At the break of dawn on a Tuesday morning, the 20-year-old Fuentes joined dozens of others at the corner of Greenway Road and 29th Street to wait for someone to pick them up. â€Å"It’s getting harder,† he added and from my viewpoint, it looked like more men were left standing than were picked up for work on the day I chose to visit. Unfortunately for everyone, contractors could face fines of up to $1,000 for each occurrence if they fail to fill out the proper immigration forms by the end of the workday said Victor Brower, deputy assistant district director for the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Phoenix.

Free Catcher in the Rye Essays: Holdens Phony Phobia :: Catcher Rye Essays

Holden's Phony Phobia in The Catcher in the Rye What does phony mean to you? Do you consider it something that is not what it really seems? Or even something or someone that isn't normal in all ways or just in some? Phony is one of the words in the English literature that can have numerous interpretations. Can be being phony possibly hinder an attempt to accomplish a task to fully function mentally? Can phony delay an individuals maturing period? In J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, Holden's "phony phobia" restricts him from becoming a fully matured adult. In Holden's attempted journey in becoming a fully matured adult, he encounters many scenarios involving friendships, personal opinions, and his love of children. His journey is an unpleasant and difficult one with many lessons learned along the way. Holden possesses abnormal relationships with some of the characters in Catcher in the Rye. Many of his friends and those he talks highly about are young children. He does not make any negative comments about these companions, and there is no mention whatsoever of phony. Holden has a strong relationship with Phoebee, his younger sister. Holden vocalizes about the fact Phoebee can visit him anytime in the summer, "What I'd do, I'd let old Phoebee came out and visit me in the summertime and on Christmas vacation and Easter vacation" (205). Holden shows a solid liking to his sister and is always wanting her by his side. He finds a hard time associating with older, mature individuals. Also, a strong relationship with Allie his deceased younger brother, is apparent due to the twenty references in the novel. In fact, most of Holden's fondest memories are of those times with his younger siblings. His comments of innocence help establish this connection. Someone who is trying to learn the sta ges of developing into a mature adult would not develop as soon, or as fully when spending their time solely with those who are five to seven years of age. They would not experience the guidance from older adults to correct wrong behavior. The guidance of an elder isn't present and they need to learn by themselves. Harrison Smith has defined Holden's friendships quite clearly "What was wrong with Holden was his moral revulsion against anything that was ugly, evil, cruel, or what he called 'phony' and his acute responsiveness to beauty and innocence, especially the innocence of the very young.

Practical Report

My possible results were now: Bacillus cereus, Mycobacterium segments, or Lasciviously acidophilus. Next I preformed the acid fast staining. When preparing this slide and viewing it on oil immersion, I was a little more confident about the negative result yielded. You are less likely to confuse a negative blue with a positive fuchsia or pink color, which was my issue in my gram staining process. Was teetering on whether my gram stain was purple, red, or both. My results in the acid fast staining were clearly blue, making the results negative.Looking back at the key, it narrows my possible results by one, leaving me with: Mycobacterium segments, or Lasciviously acidophilus. My last staining slide was the spore stain. Here yielded a negative result. The color on my slide was red. From lab red is highlighting the cell, here green would represent the spore. Did have maybe one or two green spots, but chalked that up to over dripping of malachite green, over microwaving, or not enough wate r on paper towel, as my slide was cracked in half after being microwaves. Looking back again at the lab key was narrowed my choices again, ending up with Lasciviously acidophilus.In the end, three staining tests results were as follows: Gram yielded positive, acid sat yielded negative, and spore standardized negative. The morphology that noticed was rod shape. I had a hard time distinguishing long rods from short rods. In my opinion the rods seemed short, if possible when they appeared longer they looked more like two short rods were just attached at the ends. So my thought as to what my unknown bacteria is, would be: Lasciviously acidophilus. My rationale for my results answer is mainly based on what was yielded from the staining Of each slide.The colored results matched to either positive or negative and the morphology just takes you a tepee closer in matching your result. The bacteria that believe my results yielded is Lasciviously acidophilus. It is known as a â€Å"friendly' b acteria and is a very common proportion that is found naturally in our bodies, mainly in the mouth, intestines, and the vagina. Structure wise Lasciviously acidophilus is a single-celled prokaryotic microorganism that lacks a distinct nucleus. It also contains a cell wall, a cytoplasm membrane, a nucleoli, cytoplasm, ribosome, pill, and flagella.It is rod shaped and measures about 0. 5 to 0. 8 micrometer across by 2 to 9 mm in length. It occurs in chains and is non spore forming (Sanders 322). Lasciviously acidophilus has optimal growth at 37-42 degrees Celsius. They are able to live in highly acidic environments. Prefers to grow at low pH, anything below 5. It is a motile bacteria that grows in or without the presence of oxygen. Bacteria is able to digest lactose. Culture preparations consist of dried or liquid cultures of living bacteria (it can be grown on agar slants made of 2% agar in a solution of 3. 5% Lasciviously broth).High colony counts on mediums that contain potassium a cetate, dextrose, and CHOPPY to name a ewe. This bacteria is used as a proportion to prevent/treat vaginal candidates, yeast infections of the mouth, and diarrhea. Overuse or a side effects that are currently known about this bacteria is constipation and flatulence. With Lasciviously acidophilus there wasn't much about the production of toxins it could cause, but more about the dittoing abilities. It aids in producing enzymes which promote digestibility, decreases the levels of toxic amines in the blood, the positive list goes on.When researching of other bacteria that was closely related to Lasciviously acidophilus. I was unsuccessful. But because it does grow naturally within us this bacteria works in conjunction with other bacteria and organisms within our bodies. After coming to the conclusion of my results until now I think was very oblivious to the bacteria that I was looking up. The more in-depth search I went into I realized I used this bacteria, this proportion, often in my profession. The physicians at my nursing home often prescribe Lasciviously acidophilus to residents that are being treated with an antibiotic.

Having My Ear Surgery

One of the times that I was most proud of was the time that I had my ear surgery done on December 19. I wanted ear surgery so I can hear better and because of the hole in my ear. Before surgery I was scared and worried that it will hurt so bad and painful. Right before surgery, they numbed my vein with liquid and put an intravenous needle in the numbed skin vein and they put me in the operating room. During surgery, I didn’t feel anything and the doctor started the surgery by making an incision on the ear and he put a patch on it. Next, he put more patches on the part close to my eardrum and then he found an old ear tube close to my eardrum and he removed it. After the surgery I went to the recovery room and stayed there for more than an hour and during that time I had some stuff to eat and then after that we went home. One day someone put hot sauce in a soda bottle and put it in the fridge. I came to take it out and then I started to take the bottle out. Then I started to drink from it and my tongue started to burn and I needed help from mom and I had to drink water to make the burning sensation to go away. The burning sensation went away then I had more hot sauce then the burning sensation came back. The smell was very odoriferous and spicy. The lesson that I learned was before eating or drinking anything you are supposed to check the contents of the container.