The author considers the combination of the concept of spiritual laws and the principle of self-reliance in the philosophy of American transcendentalist R. W. Emerson. This analysis reveals the meaning of such combination and the relationship between freedom of creativity and spiritual laws, culminating in a fusion of individualism and holistic principles in R. W. Emerson's philosophy.
In the historical-philosophical aspect, R. W. Emerson's reinterpretation of Neoplatonic and Christian teachings on unity around the one God is examined. His idea of freedom, which is not subject to law but is enabled by the integrity of Being thanks to laws, is analyzed. The author considers the influence of these theses of R. W. Emerson's philosophy on W. James and the relevance of some Jamesian pragmatic arguments regarding faith to explain and justify R. W. Emerson's theories. The article also examines the affinity between R. W. Emerson's ideas and European, in particular H. Bergson's irrationalism.
For R. W. Emerson, creativity is the meaning and purpose of life. A person becomes creative through the self-realization of a free personality, but, on the other hand, such self-realization is possible only as a step beyond oneself, the use of one's own energy for the affirmation of super-individual values, as well as on the basis of understanding and observing spiritual laws. This is the key to the growth of a person's creative energy and, accordingly, makes it possible to rely on oneself.
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