Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self-reliance

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American Transcendentalist philosopher and essayist. From 1836 to 1837, Emerson presented a series of lectures on the philosophy of history at Boston’s Masonic Temple. These lectures were never published separately but many of Emerson’s thoughts were later used in Self-reliance. In this book, first published in 1841, Emerson clearly illustrates the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency, and to follow his or her own instincts and ideas. Here, Andrew Holmes’ interpretation of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self-reliance illustrates the timeless nature of Emerson’s insights by bringing them to life through 52 modern case studies.