Emerson: First Modern-day Motivational Speaker?

Paper Summary:

This paper begins with a critical examination of an article by Sanford Pinsker, entitled "Was Ralph Waldo Emerson Our First Motivational Speaker?" Pinsker finds that, like Emerson, modern motivational speakers inspire a feeling of greatness in their listeners. However, the author explains that while Emerson believed in the importance of developing a self through the practice of self-reliance, which requires hard work and motivation, professional speakers today focus on improving one's view of life, rather than setting people on a path to a better self. In this context, the author discusses Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance," which warns against conformity and encourages a constant re-evaluation of one's own thoughts, as well as the validity of the thoughts and statements of others. The author explains that Emerson concludes by repudiating the very motivations behind what drives most people to listen to motivational speakers, the desire for success in obtaining property and fortune, since the task of finding one's true self should be the real goal.

From the Paper:

"Emerson was a brilliant writer and skilled orator. Through the keeping of detailed journals he was able to write, and re-write, essays, as he deemed necessary. He felt there was nothing wrong with a change of opinion and in fact considered constant re-evaluations of one's beliefs a vital part of being an adult. Many of his essays implore the reader to make the attempt to be more than a reader for idle pleasure and encourage the same constant self-exploration. Beneath all of this, his writing still retains its clarity and a certain timeless quality."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Selected Essays, Lectures, and Poems. New York, New York: Bantam, 2007.
• Lydon, Christopher. "A God For Bloggers." Christopher Lydon Interviews 6 June 2003 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/lydondev/2003/06/21/a-god-for-bloggers/
• Pinsker, Sanford. "Was Ralph Waldo Emerson Our First Motivational Speaker?" Virginia Quarterly Review. Summer 2001. http://www.vqronline.org/articles/2001/summer/pinsker-ralph-waldo/

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