So when I first saw how long this speech was I was intimidated by it. Reading it I was a bit confused until we spoke about it in class. Our discussion helped me see it a bit more clear the concepts he is trying to make us think of while we read through his speech. The line which we spoke of in class was one that made me think a bit when I read through it the first time. “In this distribution of functions, the scholar is the delegated intellect. In the right state, he is, Man Thinking. In the degenerate state, when the victim of society, he tends to become a mere thinker, or, still worse, the parrot of other men’s thinking” (paragraph 6). At first when I read that line I was confused to what Emerson was trying to tell us here but then I think I realized what he was trying to state.
We don’t want to base our own thinking off of others around us and “parrot” them and their ideas. We want to have our own thoughts and think for ourselves as we are our own person. If I am understanding this correctly, Emerson wants to make us use this to our advantage and make oursleves unique and not like everyone else. This is how we get more unique works and articles made by impressionable writers.
Another concept which I am still a bit confused on is the Nature element. Emerson states that he is ignorant of nature and his mind can not process that. He says that he wants to understand it more from what I understand. I think anyone would want to understand the world around us and concepts that we might not be very knowledgeable about. He wants to attain more knowledge so he can write about more concepts that might not be written about. Please let me know if I am on the right track with what I am thinking reguarding this reading.
Concepts like this are a bit complicated for me and I can hope that I can understand them a bit more with the help of everyone’s feedback on this post.
Hi Zoe, I totally agree with you on how Emerson wants us to do our own thinking and not steal other peoples ideas because how our we gonna learn without discovering it ourselves.
Hi Zoe!
I agree with your point about not wanting to “parrot” others’ ideas and you’re definitely right that Emerson wants us to think for ourselves. That line about the scholar being “Man Thinking” really shows his belief that originality is what leads to real growth, not just repeating what’s already been said.
I also think you’re on the right track with the nature part. Emerson sees nature as more than just the physical world. He seems to see it as a guide or textbook for the soul. Even though he admits he doesn’t fully understand it, that curiosity is important because nature can inspire deeper thought and creativity.
Overall, I think your interpretation is strong! The fact that you’re questioning and trying to work through these ideas is exactly what Emerson would encourage and want you to do.
Hi Zoe!! I really loved reading your take on Emerson’s speech. I agree with you completely with the fact that some of the ideas that he brings up are worded or explained in a really confusing way, but I think you’re on the right track. With the whole point about nature, I agree with your interpretation of what he means. To add onto it, I think he is really arguing that we should go and look at the world around us that has yet to be discovered and yet to be explored and use that are our basis of knowledge and thought rather than the ideas of other peopl.
Hello Zoe! I really liked the point you made about “parroting ideas”. It’s so important to get different perspectives, and as many sides as possible before coming to a conclusive opinion!