![]() To help bridge this divide, Emerson encourages his audience to engage in all types of work, saying, “There is virtue yet in the hoe and the spade for learned as well as unlearned men.” That “virtue” is that they will develop a better understanding of their fellow men by working alongside them. This means they begin to work solely for their own benefit, and not for society as a whole. Emerson believes that social and economic barriers prevent individual men and women from understanding the “true dignity” of their role in society. ![]() Emerson therefore argues that it is among the chief duties of the American scholar to find and share the connections and universal truths that will help unite mankind and inspire future generations.Īlthough individuals are, in Emerson’s opinion, inextricably bound to one another by metaphysical ties, he also contends that “the state of society is one in which the members have suffered amputation from the trunk.” Instead of feeling united and valued, individuals within the larger society feel isolated from one another. As it is, however, Emerson says that society has become so divided that individuals have lost pride in the work they do and do not recognize that they are a part of something bigger than themselves. He asserts that all people, no matter their education or social standing, play equally important roles in creating and maintaining a successful society. In his essay “The American Scholar,” Emerson urges his audience to remember that they are important parts of a larger whole and that, as scholars, they have a specific function in society: to facilitate unity.
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