... conformity and adopting a lifestyle dictated not by society but by one's own inherent sense of morality. Henry David Thoreau, the intellectual heir to Emerson's transcendental throne, carries on in this vein in his essay, "Civil Disobedience." Thoreau uses the Transcendentalist philosophy to attack the state from an ... majority demonstrate this deficiency. The middle and lower class majority cannot afford, neither economically nor socially, to be non-conformists as Emerson and Thoreau prescribe. For Emerson, "The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It l...

• Word Count: 1633
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate