Emerson believes in order to be successful, one must think for oneself and to trust one’s thoughts. One must be original and not imitate or worry about what others think. One must not compromise oneself by changing how one acts or thinks so they will be accepted by others or society. He thinks conforming is cowardly. The key is to have the courage to be an individual with original thoughts even though it may cause society to scorn you. After all, Emerson states that Socrates, Jesus, Galileo, and Newton were all misunderstood and considered outcasts, yet, they were geniuses. Thus to be successful, one must be an individual who does not conform to society so he can be creative, and one must have reliance on one’s thoughts and abilities.
I believe it is important to trust your thoughts and to strive to be original. However, I do not agree with Emerson’s idea that one should not conform to society because it takes away our individuality. People need to accept society’s expectations, laws, and customs so there is stability and mutual understanding. Without conformity, there would be chaos as I think many people are selfish and care only about themselves. In view of this, I do see how conformity can limit creativeness and individuality. There is a need for a very small percentage of individuals to go out on the limb and take a chance at being “outcasts.” This would allow people like inventors, scientists, artists, musicians, or writers to be themselves and express their opinions that are perhaps “way out there.” In time, these ideas may prove to be true and change the way society lives much like Newton and Einstein did. However, the majority of people need to fit into society and conform. If one is trying to get an average job or management position, then they have to be “normal” so they can get the job and be accepted by others. If they are known to react on their own thoughts and go against company policies, then the company will not want them as an employee as they might disrupt their business.
It is not easy to be an individual with completely original thoughts because it can sometimes cause you to be alienated from society. If you have different views some people do not accept you. This may wrongly cause you to hold back your thoughts or change them so others will not think you are weird. Even so, we should try to trust our thoughts and have the courage to express them openly. After all, America guarantees freedom of speech and stresses individuality.
2 comments:
Katie-
I'm glad to see you got a lot out of reading Emerson. Though very complex and somewhat confusing, this piece of writing is definately important to understanding success. You gathered Emerson's point well, althought it can be interpreted many different ways. I agree with your first paragraph because in the long run, what others think about you doesn't matter. If you trust yourself and believe that you can do something, the path to success becomes much clearer. We have to learn to accept alienation in some cases because it is better to stick to one's personal beliefs than to change to fit in with someone else.
I agree-to some extent- with your second paragraph about conformity. While a sense of order needs to be maintained in order to keep society civil, I don't think conformity is necessary. There needs to be a balance of 'conformists' and 'non-conformists' to keep the social order. But-if we think about it hard enough... isn't everyone conforming to something? To be a conformist is to go along with the common interpretation of the world as we know it, but non-conformists are conforming to their idea of reality. So is there really a difference between the two? I don't know the answer to that question, but it's certainly something to think about.
Katie,
I found what you said to be very true and I share many of your same opinions. Emerson talked about many things because it was a very long story but you summed it up well and convereyed the major points very effectively. I agree with you about how you said in the end you need to be creative and and individual to achieve success but there is a limit.
You said in some areas of the work force you need to confrom, and i agree with you very much here. I do think though, that conformity is more important in some areas than in others. Many professions allow you to be your creative self. Executive and management positions maybe wont allow you to do this though because you need to set the standard ffor future executives and other employees.
In the end I agere with very much of what you said and I got alot out of reading your very thoughtufl entry.
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