the Over-Soul

E46513

The Over-Soul is Ralph Waldo Emerson’s transcendentalist concept of a universal, divine spiritual presence that unites all individual souls.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf essay
metaphysical concept
philosophical concept
religious concept
transcendentalist concept
articulatedIn Emerson's essays
Emerson's lectures
associatedWith New England Transcendentalism
author Ralph Waldo Emerson
contrastedWith orthodox Christian theology
coreIdea all souls participate in one universal soul
intuition is a means of access to the divine
moral insight comes from inner spiritual experience
the divine is immanent in every person
the individual self is an expression of a larger spiritual reality
creator Ralph Waldo Emerson
describedIn essay "The Over-Soul"
developedIn 19th century
United States
emphasizes direct relationship between individual and divine
inner spiritual experience
self-reliance in spiritual matters
unity of all beings
firstPublishedIn 1841
hasNature divine presence
impersonal spiritual principle
universal spiritual presence
hasTheme immediacy of the divine
spiritual democracy of all souls
unity of God, nature, and humanity
influenced American philosophy
American religious thought
New Thought movement
later spiritual individualism
influencedBy Christian mysticism
German idealism
Hindu philosophy
Neoplatonism
languageOf English
opposes materialism
strict religious dogma
partOf Transcendentalism
publishedIn "Essays: First Series"
relatedTo American Transcendentalism
Unitarian thought
idealism
mysticism
unites all individual souls

Referenced by (8)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
G. W. F. Hegel ("World Spirit")
Ralph Waldo Emerson
notableIdea
the Over-Soul ("essay "The Over-Soul"")
describedIn
Transcendentalism
hasKeyConcept
Essays: First Series ("The Over-Soul")
hasPart
Essays: Second Series
hasPhilosophicalTheme
Essays: First Series ("The Over-Soul")
notableEssay
Ralph Waldo Emerson ("The Over-Soul")
notableWork

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