In the book Walden, or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau, written in 1854, a strong philosophical theme about transcendentalism is portrayed. This worldview was an important New England philosophy during the author's lifetime and had a great effect on him. This vision has a very simple idea. It demonstrates that people, men and women alike, have knowledge of the world around them, as well as themselves, that goes beyond what they can see, smell, taste, touch, or feel. This knowledge is acquired through imagination and intuition. People are able to trust themselves because of their own authority and what they individually think is right. Transcendentalism is shown through Thoreau as he regrets materialism, uses scripture, and how he accepts all faiths and philosophies. the noblest plants are appreciated for the fruits which they finally bear in the air and in the light, far from the ground, and are not treated like the humbler esculents, which, although they may ...