'Liberal Platonism and Transcendentalism: Shaftesbury, Schleiermacher, Emerson.' Symbiosis, 1.1 (April 1997) 1—20

about

Liberal Platonism and Transcendentalism: Shaftesbury, Schleiermacher, Emerson by Robert D. Richardson Jr. is a comprehensive scholarly essay that explores the connections between Liberal Platonism and American Transcendentalism. Originally published in Symbiosis: A Journal of Anglo-American Literary Relations, this micro-ebook traces the intellectual lineage from classical and Renaissance Platonists to the influential figures of Shaftesbury, Schleiermacher, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Richardson delves into how these thinkers synthesized Platonic, Christian, and Stoic ideas, influencing the development of Transcendentalism and shaping the broader tradition of liberal religious thought. This essay is essential for students, scholars, and enthusiasts of philosophical and religious studies, particularly those interested in the intersection of Platonism and Transcendentalism.

This essay, by a renowned scholar of the American Renaissance, was first published in Symbiosis: a Journal of Anglo-American Literary Relations.
It was chosen as the opening essay of the first issue of that ground-breaking journal of transatlantic studies.

author

Robert D Richardson is the prize winning biographer of Emerson and Thoreau.