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Annotation Emersons Liberalism explains why Ralph Waldo Emerson has been and remains the central literary voice of American culture: he gave ever-fresh and lasting expression to its most fundamental and widely shared liberal values. Liberalism, after all, is more than a political philosophy: it is a form of civilization, a set of values, a culture, a way of representing and living in the world. This book makes explicit what has long been implicit in Americas embrace of Emerson. Neal Dolan offers the first comprehensive and historically informed exposition of all of Ralph Waldo Emersons writings as a contribution to the theory and practice of liberal culture. Rather than projecting twentieth-century viewpoints onto the past, he restores Emersons great body of work to the classical liberal contexts that most decisively shaped its general political-cultural outlookthe libertarian-liberalism of John Locke, the Scottish Enlightenment, the American founders, and the American Whigs. In addition to in-depth consideration of Emersons journals and lectures, Dolan provides original commentary on many of Emersons most celebrated published works, including Nature , the Divinity School Address, History, Compensation, Experience, the political addresses of the early 1840s, An Address ... on ... The Emancipation of the Negroes in the British West Indies, Representative Men , English Traits , and The Conduct of Life . He considers Emersons distinctive elaborations of foundational liberal valuesprogress, reason, work, property, limited government, rights, civil society, liberty, commerce, and empiricism. And he argues that Emersons ideas are a morally bracing and spiritually inspiring resource for the ongoing sustenance of American culture and civilization, reminding us of the depth, breadth, and strength of our common liberal inheritance. Progress -- Reason I, science -- Reason II, virtue -- Property, culture -- Reason III, skepticism -- Limited government -- Natural rights, civil society -- Empiricism -- Liberty, commerce.
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