The Life of Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was one of the foremost writers of the transcendentalist movement. This movement highlighted the inherent goodness of both people and nature, and highlighted how society could often end up corrupting this ultimate goodness. The two famous figures from the movement were Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, although several other famous figures exist from the movement.
Thoreau grew up in Concord, Massachusetts, then went to Harvard to study for a number of years. He returned to concord and spent some time running a grammar school, before shutting it down. Shortly after, he met Emerson for the first time, which introduced him to the world of thought and writing. He spent much of the remainder of his life writing, thinking about social and political issues, and thinking about the role of nature in life.
Emerson was a very prolific writer throughout his life. He was an essayist, having written multiple works including “Self-Reliance”. In addition to his philosophical work, he was also famous as an abolitionist. He famous advocated for the end of slavery throughout much of his life. He also believed in the value of limited government, individualism, and the march from monarchism to democracy.
Thoreau and Glamping
So the big question is this – was he a glamper? In other words, how legit was his stay at Walden Pond? Was he dealing with the elements all by himself, in complete self-reliance? Or did he get some help from others? The answer leans more towards the latter, rather than the former. Notably, he had his mother due his laundry for him, ensuring he had clean clothes available without needing to do the drudgery of cleaning his clothes in the pond, or in a nearby river. He also walked into town on a regular basis to buy sandwiches from the 19th century equivalent of a deli. He also allegedly received financial aid from his mentor and benefactor (and fellow transcendentalist) Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Levels of Glamping
Is this right or wrong? I suppose it depends on your perspective – if you view his experiment from the perspective of hard core survivalism, then glamping is probably not that. But on the other hand, most survival shows aren’t really about hard core survivalism. We all know a certain famous survivalist (who shall remain unnamed) who tapes shows about survival, but spends the nights between shooting days in local hotels. On top of this, most tribal societies don’t really have people surviving in the wild on their own. People mostly live in small tribes of several dozen to a hundred people, and work together to hunt for food and gather berries. Maybe expecting someone to survive off the land by themselves is too much to ask for. With all that said, it seems like he wasn’t exactly living the life of a survivalist.
But if you view his exercise as a way of getting close to nature, and getting away from the hustle and bustle of life, then maybe he wasn’t so far off. Maybe he wasn’t trying to be a rugged individualist, and instead was trying to get in touch with nature and the world. This does bring up the question of how far we need to go in our day to day life to replicate his transcendentalist experiment. Is backyard camping close enough to what Thoreau did? What about hanging out at a backyard fire pit? What about AirBnB listed tents with built-in mini bars and electricity? Is taking a Winnebego on a camping roadtrip good enough to get in touch with nature? What about an Airstream? And why do Airstreams cost so much more than a Winnebego?
Writing, From Thoreau to Modern Writers
The answer I suppose is that it depends on whether or not you write a good navel gazing book while glamping. If you do, there’s some potential that you’re the next American philosopher. The key is to get your thoughts published by the right people. Unfortunately, writing manifestos in the Reddit comments doesn’t quite cut it. Nobody reads 1000 word comments unless you add a “BLUF” at the start. Even then, the only people writing your comments will be other Redditors (and you know what they’re like). What about self-publishing on Amazon? Definitely better.
The gold standard of course is to get your thoughts published in a creative writing festival. The type attended by 10 other people. Even though few people will read your works, you’ll feel like you’re part of a community. Also, literature professors decades in the future may still be talking and writing about you. And best of all, english majors of the future will use your writings to quote mine for their essays about your works (but rest assured, they won’t actually read all of what you wrote).
So it seems like the requirements are 1) do some sort of camping and 2) write original thoughts that go beyond Reddit posts. Staying at a hostel while on vacation probably doesn’t cut it. At that point, you’re basically another person attempting to relive their college dreams. And if you go camping but don’t write anything, you’re just a “granola” type. Nothing wrong with that, but certainly not a transcendentalist. If you’re living “outdoors” to some degree (even the Airstream option) then you might be on your way to being the next American transcendentalist.
Combining The Two
Overall, there’s a strong argument that we should go back to the integration of nature with philosophy. There are many outdoors types who live mountain biking, hiking, mountaineering, bouldering, skiing, canoeing, and ice climbing. Especially in places like Colorado and Utah. There are also plenty of “thinkers” who enjoy writing long screeds about their thoughts on society, metaphysics, ethics, and the ego. But how many people do both? We need philosophy professors who spend their weekends braving the elements of the Alaskan tundra, fighting Kodiak bears while thinking about the meaning of life. The best time to do this would be during the summer. This is when the professors’ aren’t teaching classes and have fewer obligations (other than doing some research). It might be worth seeing if their philosophy department would be willing to fund these trips, as “professional” trips.
Also, unrelated, but Henry David Thoreau is also a literal neckbeard (see image below). This definitely should not detract from his value as a philosopher and American writer, but it’s still an interesting observation…
