政大機構典藏-National Chengchi University Institutional Repository(NCCUR):Item 140.119/118203

政大典藏 > College of Foreign Languages and Literature > Department of English > Theses > Item 140.119/118203

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://nccur.lib.nccu.edu.tw/handle/140.119/118203

Title:	坐而言、起而行：論亨利．大衛．梭羅《公民不服從》中的超驗主義精神 Action from Principle: Transcendentalism in Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience”
Authors:	賴盈穎 Lai, Yin-Yin
Contributors:	柯瑞強 John Michael Corrigan 賴盈穎 Lai, Yin-Yin
Keywords:	公民不服從梭羅超驗主義十九世紀美國文學愛默生 Civil disobedience Resistance to civil government Henry David Thoreau Transcendentalism Ralph Waldo Emerson Essays the Over-Soul Self-Reliance
Date:	2018
Issue Date:	2018-07-03 17:21:36 (UTC+8)
Abstract:	學界研究梭羅之《公民不服從》常將其置於社會科學範疇內，探討其政治可行性、合法性、有效性等議題。雖成果豐碩，但僅從政治與法律觀點探討，卻忽略其文學本質與其時代脈絡，不免落於俗套、有狹隘與簡化之嫌。本文視《公民不服從》為文學作品，從文學觀點（Literary Perspective）出發、佐以超驗主義作為研究途徑（Transcendentalist Approach），探討19世紀新英格蘭超驗主義（New England Transcendentalism）如何影響、型塑與啟發梭羅《公民不服從》，並試圖證明《公民不服從》本質上為體現（embody）超驗主義精神的作品。本文分為六章。第一章為緒論，介紹研究背景與問題意識（超驗主義如何影響公民不服從？）。第二章為文獻回顧，爬梳政治與文學領域如何看待梭羅《公民不服從》。第三章為時代思潮背景，概述19世紀新英格蘭超驗主義。第四章為方法論，採用愛默生（Ralph Waldo Emerson）、從其代表性作品《隨筆全集》（Essays）萃取四個核心原則作為超驗主義基石，分別為：超靈（Over-Soul）、內在神性（Inner Divinity）、反權威（Anti-Authority）、自立（Self-Reliance）等。第五章為文本分析，以細讀（close reading）方式逐步檢視梭羅《公民不服從》如何體現超靈、內在神性、反權威、自立等原則。第六章為結論，提供研究發現與貢獻。本研究得出結論三點：1.《公民不服從》是梭羅貫徹超驗主義下的成果；2.《公民不服從》包含神秘（the mystical）、道德（the moral）、政治（the political）、實用（the practical）等多元面向，且皆具概念與實作；3.梭羅政治三元體（Thoreauvian political triad）是由行動秉持原則（action from principle）、公民不服從（civil disobedience）、和平革命（peaceable revolution）三者組成。 Academic researchers typically position Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” within a narrow political science framework, dismissing Thoreau as a second-rate political thinker and characterizing “Civil Disobedience” as a conceptually disorganized rather than academically significant theory. However, the political science lens provides only a partial view of “Civil Disobedience.” Placing Thoreau within the literary and philosophical milieu of his time, this study utilizes a Transcendentalist approach derived from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s First & Second Series of Essays to engage in a close reading of Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” from a literary perspective. It explores the connections between “Civil Disobedience” and the New England philosophy, Transcendentalism. To this end, I develop the following research question: to what extent and in what way does New England Transcendentalism inform Thoreauvian civil disobedience? I hypothesize that 1) Thoreauvian civil disobedience exemplifies the confluence of “action from principle” (Thoreau 154) and 2) “principle” refers to Transcendentalist Principles while “action” refers to the enactment of those principles. To answer the above research question, I use a Transcendentalist analytical framework that involves four principles, each representing a different dimension of Transcendentalist thought: the Over-Soul (the mystical), Inner Divinity (the moral), Anti-Authority (the political), and Self-Reliance (the practical). Through these lenses, I utilize textual evidence to demonstrate how Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” enacts Transcendentalist Principles. First, Thoreau enacts the mystical principle of the Over-Soul by connecting himself to the Universe, Nature, and others. Second, Thoreau exemplifies the moral principle of Inner Divinity by following his conscience and Higher Law. Third, Thoreau embodies the political principle of Anti-Authority by distrusting authorities like governments, institutions, and the various iterations of the mainstream. Finally, Thoreau asserts the practical principle of Self-Reliance that consists of self-sufficiency, self-motivation, and defiance. With the aid of a systematic categorical analysis and textual evidence, I decipher the covert Transcendentalism in “Civil Disobedience.” My analysis shows that 1) Transcendentalism fuels Thoreauvian civil disobedience, 2) Thoreauvian civil disobedience has mystical, moral, political, and practical dimensions and involves both theory and action, and 3) there exists a “Thoreauvian political triad” that encompasses principled action, civil disobedience, and peaceable revolution. Ultimately, I draw the following conclusions: 1) to understand fully “Civil Disobedience,” one must reread it from a literary Transcendentalist perspective rather than viewing it merely as a political tract; and 2) the phrase “action from principle” encapsulates the core of Thoreauvian civil disobedience––the combination of Transcendentalist Principles and the corresponding political actions.
Reference:	Abbott, Philip. “Henry David Thoreau, the State of Nature, and the Redemption of Liberalism.” The Journal of Politics, Vol. 47, No.1, February. 1985, pp. 182-208. Andrews, Joseph L. Literary Concord Uncovered: Revealing Thoreau, Emerson, Alcott, Hawthorne and Fuller. Xlibris, 2014. Arendt, Hannah. “Civil Disobedience.” Crisis of the Republic. Harvest Books, 1972, pp. 49-102. Barbour, Brian M. Introd. American Transcendentalism: An Anthology of Criticism. Edited by Brian M. Barbour. U of Notre Dame P, 1973, pp. 1-5. Barzun, Jacques. “Thoreau the Thorough Impressionist.” American Scholar, Vol. 56, No. 2, Spring. 1987, pp. 250-58. Bedau, Hugo Adams. “Civil Disobedience and Personal Responsibility for Injustice.” Civil Disobedience in Focus. Edited by Hugo Adam Bedau. Routledge, 1991, pp. 49-67. ---, editor. Civil Disobedience: Theory and Practice. Macmillan, 1969. Bridgman, Richard. Dark Thoreau. U of Nebraska P, 1982. Brooks, Van Wyck. Makers and Finders: The Flowering of New England. Dutton, 1952. Buell, Lawrence, editor. The American Transcendentalists: Essential Writings. Modern Library, 2006. ---, “Disaffiliation as Engagement.” Thoreau at 200: Essays and Reassessments. U of Cambridge P, 2016, pp. 200-215. ---, Literary Transcendentalism: Style and Vision in the American Renaissance. U of Cornell P, 1973. Cabot, James Elliot. A Memoir of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 2 vols. Mifflin, 1887. Cain, William E., editor. A Historical Guide to Henry David Thoreau. U of Oxford P, 2000. Cameron, Kenneth Walter. “A Historical Introduction.” Young Emerson’s Transcendental Vision: An Exposition of His World View with an Analysis of the Structure, Backgrounds, and Meaning of Nature. Transcendental Books, 1971, pp. 7-50. Carlyle, Thomas. “Characteristics.” A Carlyle Reader. Edited by G. B. Tennyson. U of Cambridge P, 1988, pp. 67-103. Carpenter, Frederic Ives. Emerson Handbook. Hendricks House, 1953. ---, “Transcendentalism.” American Transcendentalism: An Anthology of Criticism. Edited by Brian M. Barbour. U of Notre Dame Press P, 1973, pp. 23-34. Carton, Evan. “The Price of Privilege.” American Scholar, Vol. 67, No.4, Autumn. 1998, pp. 105-12. Case, Kristen, and K. P. Van Anglen, editors. Thoreau at 200: Essays and Renaissance. U of Cambridge P, 2016. Cavell, Stanley. “Portions.” The Senses of Walden. U of Chicago P, 1972, pp. 70-119. Chenoweth, Erica. “Civil Disobedience: Reflections on an Idea Whose Time has Come.” Global Governance, vol. 20. 2014, pp. 351-58. Cohen, Carl. Civil Disobedience: Conscience, Tactics, and the Law. U of Michigan Library, 2013. Cooke, George Willis. Introduction. The Poets of Transcendentalism. Edited by George W. Cooke. Burt Franklin, 1903. Corporaal, Marguerite, and Evert Jan van Leeuwen, editors. The Literary Utopias of Cultural Communities, 1790-1910. Rodopi B. V., 2010. Day, Martin S. “Renaissance in New England.” A Handbook of American Literature: A Comprehensive Study from Colonel Times to the Present Day. Bookman Books, 2003, pp. 78-110. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Chapter I.” Nature. The American Transcendentalists: Essential Writings. Edited by Lawrence Buell. Modern Library, 2006, pp. 34-36. ---, Emerson’s Essays: First & Second Series Complete in One Volume. Introduction by Irwin Edman. Harper Perennial, 1981. ---, “Thoreau.” Ralph Waldo Emerson: Selected Essays, Lectures, and Poems. Edited and with a Foreword by Robert D. Richardson Jr. Bantam Books, 1990, pp. 351-370. Frothingham, Octavius Brooks. Transcendentalism in New England. Introduction by Sydney E. Ahlstrom. G.P. Putman’s Sons, 1876. U of Pennsylvania P, 1972. Goddard, Harold Clarke. Studies in New England Transcendentalism. U of Columbia P, 1908. Goodman, Russell. “Transcendentalism.” Edited by Edward N. Zalta. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Summer. 2017. plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2017/entries/transcendentalism/ Gross, Robert A. “Quiet War with the State: Henry David Thoreau and Civil Disobedience.” Yale Review, vol. 93, No. 4, July. 2005, pp. 1-17. Wiley Online Library, DOI:10.1111/j.0044-0124.2005. 00950.x Gura, Philip F. American Transcendentalism: A History. Hill and Wang, 2007. Guyer, Paul and Rolf-Peter Horstmann. “Idealism.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward N. Zalta. Spring, 2015. plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2015/entries/idealism/ Habich, Robert D., and Robert C. Nowatzki. Research Guide to American Literature: Romanticism and Transcendentalism, 1820-1865. Facts on File, 2010. Hahn, Stephen. On Thoreau. Wadsworth, 2000. Harding, Walter. The Days of Henry Thoreau: A Biography. Dover, 1982. Henkin, David M. “Transcendentalism in the Streets.” Reviews in American History, vol. 27, no. 4, Dec. 1999, pp. 560-65. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/30031104. Hochfield, George. “An Introduction to Transcendentalism.” American Transcendentalism: An Anthology of Criticism. Edited by Brian M. Barbour. U of Notre Dame Press P, 1973. pp. 35-51. Johnstone, Christopher Lyle. “Thoreau and Civil Disobedience: A Rhetorical Paradox.” The Quarterly Journal of Speech, Vol. 60, No.3, Oct. 1974, pp. 313-322. Kateb, George. “Democratic Individuality and the Claims of Politics.” Political Theory, Vol. 12, No. 3. 1984, pp. 331-360. Keane, Patrick J. Emerson, Romanticism, and Intuitive Reason: the Transatlantic “Light of All Our Day.” U of Missouri P, 2005. Koster, Donald N. Transcendentalism in America. Twayne Publishers, 1975. Lane, Ruth. “Standing ‘Aloof’ from the State: Thoreau on Self-Government.” Reviews of Politics, vol. 67, No. 2, Spring. 2005, pp. 283-310. Lawton, Cynthia Whalen. “Thoreau and the Rhetoric of Dissent.” Today’s Speech, Vol. 16, No. 2, Apr. 1968, pp. 23-25. Madden, Edward H. “The Transcendentalists.” Civil Disobedience and Moral Law in Nineteenth-Century American Philosophy. U of Washington P, 1968, pp. 85-102. Malachuk, Daniel S. “Emerson’s Politics, Retranscendentalized.” A Political Companion to Ralph Waldo Emerson, edited by Alan Levine. U of Kentucky P, 2011, pp. 265-304. Mariotti, Shannon L. Thoreau’s Democratic Withdrawal: Alienation, Participation, and Modernity. U of Wisconsin P, 2010. Marx, Leo. The Machine in the Garden: Technology and the Pastoral Ideal in America. U of Oxford P, 1964, 2000. Matthiessen, Francis Otto. American Renaissance: Art and Expression in the Age of Emerson and Whitman. U of Oxford P, 1941. McKenzie, Jonathan. The Political Thought of Henry David Thoreau: Privatism and the Practice of Philosophy. U of Kentucky P, 2016. Meltzer, Milton, and Walter Harding. A Thoreau Profile. Thomas Y. Crowell, 1962. Miller, Perry. “From Edwards to Emerson.” American Transcendentalism: An Anthology of Criticism. Edited by Brian M. Barbour. U of Notre Dame Press P, 1973. pp. 63-81. Neufeldt, Leonard N. “Henry David Thoreau’s Political Economy.” New England Quarterly, Vol. 57, No. 3, Sep. 1984, pp. 359-83. JSTOR, DOI: 10.2307/365581 Newman, Lance. Our Common Dwellings: Henry Thoreau, Transcendentalism, and the Class Politics of Nature. Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford English Dictionary. U of Oxford P, 2018. en.oxforddictionaries.com ---. “Institution.” Oxford English Dictionary. U of Oxford P, 2018. en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/institution ---. “Puritan.” Oxford English Dictionary. U of Oxford P, 2018. en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/puritan ---. “Revolution.” Oxford English Dictionary. U of Oxford P, 2018. en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/revolution ---. “Unitarian.” Oxford English Dictionary. U of Oxford P, 2018. en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/Unitarian Packer, Barbara L. The Transcendentalists. U of Georgia P, 2007. Perry, Lewis. Civil Disobedience: An American Tradition. U of Yale P, 2013. Porte, Joel. Consciousness and Culture: Emerson and Thoreau Reviewed. U of Yale P, 2004. Porter, Noah. “Transcendentalism.” American Biblical Repository. July. 1968. Reprinted in Gura and Myerson, Critical Essays, Vol, 36. Powell, Jennifer. “Civil Disobedience and the Democratic Review.” American Periodicals, vol. 12. 2002, pp.172-178. Rawls, John. “Duty and Obligation.” A Theory of Justice. U of Harvard P, 1997, pp. 293-343. Rosenblum, Nancy L. “Thoreau’s Militant Conscience.” Political Theory, Vol. 9, No.1, February. 1981, pp. 81-110. Rein, Irving J. “The New England Transcendentalists: Philosophy and Rhetoric.” Philosophy & Rhetoric, Vol. 1, No.2, Spring. 1968, pp. 103-17. Rosenwald, Lawrence A. “The Theory, Practice, and Influence of Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience.” Edited by William E. Cain. A Historical Guide to Henry David Thoreau. U of Oxford P, 2000, pp. 153-179. Scruton, Roger. Kant: A Very Short Introduction. U of Oxford P, 2001. Smith, Harmon. My Friend, My Friend: The Story of Thoreau’s Relationship with Emerson. U of Massachusetts P, 1999. St. Jean, Shawn. “Thoreau’s Radical Consistency.” Massachusetts Review, Vol. 39, No. 3, Autumn. 1998, pp. 341-57. MLA International Bibliography, DOI: 10.230725091451 Sullivan, Robert. The Thoreau You Don’t Know. Collins, 2009. Taylor, Bob Pepperman. America’s Bachelor Uncle: Thoreau and the American Polity. U of Kansas P, 1996. ---. The Routledge Guidebook to Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience. Routledge, 2015. Thoreau, Henry David. “Resistance to Civil Government,” a.k.a. “Civil Disobedience.” Essays. Edited by Jeffrey S. Cramer, U of Yale P, 2013, pp. 145-171. ---. “Slavery in Massachusetts.” Essays. Edited by Jeffrey S. Cramer, U of Yale P, 2013, pp. 172-189. Turner, Jack, Introduction. A Political Companion to Henry David Thoreau. Edited by Jack Turner. U of Kentucky P, 2009. Versluis, Arthur. American Gurus: From American Transcendentalism to New Age Religion. U of Oxford P, 2014. Von Frank, Albert J. The Trials of Anthony Burns: Freedom and Slavery in Emerson’s Boston. U of Harvard P, 1998. Zashin, Elliott M. Civil Disobedience and Democracy. The Free Press, 1972. Ziff, Larzer. Literary Democracy: the Declaration of Cultural Independence in America. The Viking Press, 1981. Zinn, Howard. Disobedience and Democracy: Nine Fallacies on Law and Order. South End Press, 1968 and 2002.
Description:	碩士國立政治大學英國語文學系 103551001
Source URI:	http://thesis.lib.nccu.edu.tw/record/#G0103551001
Data Type:	thesis
DOI:	10.6814/THE.NCCU.ENG.001.2018.A09
Appears in Collections:	[Department of English] Theses

Files in This Item:

File	Size	Format
100101.pdf	1380Kb	Adobe PDF2	252	View/Open

社群 sharing

Loading...