Any writer or speaker who wishes to explain or promote a philosophy such as transcendentalism confronts the problem of discussing in language ideas that are, by definition, beyond language. Emerson resorts to imagery, but his writings are frequently cryptic, apparently contradictory, enigmatic, or simply confusing. Like other transcendentalists, he does not offer an organized body of thought; rather, he tends to circle a subject, offering comparisons, analogies, and hypotheses.
Some of the major concepts of transcendentalism have persisted and become foundational in American thought. Probably the most important of these is the affirmation of the right of individuals to follow truth as they see it, even when contrary to established laws or customs. This principle inspired both the nineteenth-century abolitionist movement and the twentieth-century civil rights and conscientious objector movements.
