Baker's Emerson Among the Eccentrics? Haven't read it but it sounds interesting and I'll look for it. I just read Robert D. Richardson Jr.'s Emerson: The Mind on Fire and found it a real tour de force -- an in-depth look at the incredibly rich variety of intellectual influences in Emerson's work. One intriguing point Richardson emphasizes is how much Emerson's worldview was influenced by women, such as the aunt he credited for so much of his thought, Mary Moody Emerson. Another interesting point is that, according to Richardson, Emerson was much more of a "people person" than Thoreau -- not at all the cold character that Doug has alluded to in the past.
IMO, Emerson retains great significance for the possibility of basic social progress. His call for self-reliance means, above all, "don't believe all the BS you're told" -- certainly a key message for our times. Also, his call for cultivating self-awareness isn't made in the name of narcissism but in the interest of learning that what's true for the individual in terms of material and psychological needs is true for all -- the foundation on which any socialist society would have to be built.
>Any luck on the job front?
Zip.
Carl
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