Throughout Nature, Emerson invokes logos to make his transcendentalist ideas seem reasonable and appealing. Utilizing logos as a persuasive method makes sense for Emerson, as it blends well with his philosophical pursuit of truth as reason. If all humans have innate rationality, like Emerson believes they do, then it makes sense to persuade by appealing to that rationality with clear facts and logical argumentation.
For example, in Chapter 4, Emerson examines the nature of language to persuade the reader of the connection between abstract nouns and the physical world:
Right originally means straight; wrong means twisted. Spirit primarily means wind; transgression, the crossing of a line; supercilious, the raising of the eye-brow. We say the heart to express emotion, the head to denote thought; and thought and emotion are, in their turn, words borrowed from sensible things, and now appropriated to spiritual nature.
He attempts to persuade by example. This passage is supposed to demonstrate how Emerson’s theory of language can explain these common sayings. Each example he points to is a piece of evidence in support of his theory.
Another example of logos appears when Emerson discusses spirit:
We learn that the highest is present to the soul of man, that the dread universal essence, which is not wisdom, or love, or beauty, or power, but all in one, and each entirely, is that for which all things exist, and that by which they are; that spirit creates; that behind nature, throughout nature, spirit is present; that spirit is one and not compound; that spirit does not act upon us from without, that is, in space and time, but spiritually, or through ourselves. Therefore, that spirit, that is, the Supreme Being, does not build up nature around us, but puts it forth through us, as the life of the tree puts forth new branches and leaves through the pores of the old.
This passage, although convoluted to the modern reader, starts with some points that Emerson hopes his readers agree with—namely, that there is some divine spiritual essence that encompasses all things, has the power to create, is present in the natural world, is completely unified, and acts exclusively in a spiritual capacity. Emerson argues that, if the reader accepts these propositions, they should also accept that God exists inside every human and has direct relations with their minds.
It is easy to see—if one accepts that every individual has direct access to divinity—why Transcendentalism puts such an emphasis on trusting oneself. The individual does not need an external mediator, like scholars or priests, to tell them what is holy if they have direct access to God.
Outlining the reasoning clearly, as Emerson does above, makes the foundations of Transcendentalism more persuasive. Emerson hopes, through using logos, to put his reader on the path to truth and rationality.
Throughout Nature, Emerson invokes logos to make his transcendentalist ideas seem reasonable and appealing. Utilizing logos as a persuasive method makes sense for Emerson, as it blends well with his philosophical pursuit of truth as reason. If all humans have innate rationality, like Emerson believes they do, then it makes sense to persuade by appealing to that rationality with clear facts and logical argumentation.
For example, in Chapter 4, Emerson examines the nature of language to persuade the reader of the connection between abstract nouns and the physical world:
Right originally means straight; wrong means twisted. Spirit primarily means wind; transgression, the crossing of a line; supercilious, the raising of the eye-brow. We say the heart to express emotion, the head to denote thought; and thought and emotion are, in their turn, words borrowed from sensible things, and now appropriated to spiritual nature.
He attempts to persuade by example. This passage is supposed to demonstrate how Emerson’s theory of language can explain these common sayings. Each example he points to is a piece of evidence in support of his theory.
Another example of logos appears when Emerson discusses spirit:
We learn that the highest is present to the soul of man, that the dread universal essence, which is not wisdom, or love, or beauty, or power, but all in one, and each entirely, is that for which all things exist, and that by which they are; that spirit creates; that behind nature, throughout nature, spirit is present; that spirit is one and not compound; that spirit does not act upon us from without, that is, in space and time, but spiritually, or through ourselves. Therefore, that spirit, that is, the Supreme Being, does not build up nature around us, but puts it forth through us, as the life of the tree puts forth new branches and leaves through the pores of the old.
This passage, although convoluted to the modern reader, starts with some points that Emerson hopes his readers agree with—namely, that there is some divine spiritual essence that encompasses all things, has the power to create, is present in the natural world, is completely unified, and acts exclusively in a spiritual capacity. Emerson argues that, if the reader accepts these propositions, they should also accept that God exists inside every human and has direct relations with their minds.
It is easy to see—if one accepts that every individual has direct access to divinity—why Transcendentalism puts such an emphasis on trusting oneself. The individual does not need an external mediator, like scholars or priests, to tell them what is holy if they have direct access to God.
Outlining the reasoning clearly, as Emerson does above, makes the foundations of Transcendentalism more persuasive. Emerson hopes, through using logos, to put his reader on the path to truth and rationality.
Emerson frequently uses pathos in Nature. It is worth noting that, although the term "pathos" is often used to apply to things that invoke negative emotions like pity or pain, Emerson in this essay mainly attempts to invoke positive emotions, such as a sense of wonder regarding the human spirit and nature.
For example, to argue that each individual, including the reader, has the potential for greatness, Emerson writes:
Know then, that the world exists for you. For you is the phenomenon perfect. What we are, that only can we see. All that Adam had, all that Cæsar could, you have and can do. Adam called his house, heaven and earth; Cæsar called his house, Rome; you perhaps call yours, a cobler’s trade; a hundred acres of ploughed land; or a scholar’s garret. Yet line for line and point for point, your dominion is as great as theirs, though without fine names. Build, therefore, your own world.
Directly addressing the reader and comparing them to great men is supposed to make them feel wonder regarding themselves and their own potential. One is supposed to feel awe toward humanity in general, as well as awe towards oneself and one’s own life in particular. Emerson, by directly appealing to the reader's emotions, attempts to make his individualism more sympathetic.
Utilizing pathos as a persuasive method makes sense for Emerson, as it blends well with his poetic pursuit of beauty as truth. Emerson doesn’t have the same negative association with emotions or subjectivity that many writers do. Feelings, in Emerson's view, can be just as reliable as logic. Some concepts can only be understood by using emotion. For example, divinity:
We can foresee God in the coarse and, as it were, distant phenomena of matter; but when we try to define and describe himself, both language and thought desert us, and we are as helpless as fools and savages. That essence refuses to be recorded in propositions, but when man has worshipped him intellectually, the noblest ministry of nature is to stand as the apparition of God.
The way Emerson tries to persuade readers parallels how he thinks human minds perceive truth. He uses both logos and pathos because he thinks logic and emotion, philosophy and poetry, and truth and beauty are all intertwined. Pathos, for Emerson, is particularly useful in matters of the individual and the divine, where clear language and factual reasoning seem to be insufficient to express human experience.
Emerson frequently uses pathos in Nature. It is worth noting that, although the term "pathos" is often used to apply to things that invoke negative emotions like pity or pain, Emerson in this essay mainly attempts to invoke positive emotions, such as a sense of wonder regarding the human spirit and nature.
For example, to argue that each individual, including the reader, has the potential for greatness, Emerson writes:
Know then, that the world exists for you. For you is the phenomenon perfect. What we are, that only can we see. All that Adam had, all that Cæsar could, you have and can do. Adam called his house, heaven and earth; Cæsar called his house, Rome; you perhaps call yours, a cobler’s trade; a hundred acres of ploughed land; or a scholar’s garret. Yet line for line and point for point, your dominion is as great as theirs, though without fine names. Build, therefore, your own world.
Directly addressing the reader and comparing them to great men is supposed to make them feel wonder regarding themselves and their own potential. One is supposed to feel awe toward humanity in general, as well as awe towards oneself and one’s own life in particular. Emerson, by directly appealing to the reader's emotions, attempts to make his individualism more sympathetic.
Utilizing pathos as a persuasive method makes sense for Emerson, as it blends well with his poetic pursuit of beauty as truth. Emerson doesn’t have the same negative association with emotions or subjectivity that many writers do. Feelings, in Emerson's view, can be just as reliable as logic. Some concepts can only be understood by using emotion. For example, divinity:
We can foresee God in the coarse and, as it were, distant phenomena of matter; but when we try to define and describe himself, both language and thought desert us, and we are as helpless as fools and savages. That essence refuses to be recorded in propositions, but when man has worshipped him intellectually, the noblest ministry of nature is to stand as the apparition of God.
The way Emerson tries to persuade readers parallels how he thinks human minds perceive truth. He uses both logos and pathos because he thinks logic and emotion, philosophy and poetry, and truth and beauty are all intertwined. Pathos, for Emerson, is particularly useful in matters of the individual and the divine, where clear language and factual reasoning seem to be insufficient to express human experience.
