| Summary: | 博士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 英語學系 === 100 === The transcendental quest of attempting to locate God through contemplation and emersion in nature has led many critics over the years to link the movement with Eastern philosophies; particularly Hinduism and Buddhism. This has been very apparent with writers such as Emerson, Thoreau and Whitman, and a reoccurring theme has been to identify these writers as possessing Buddhist characteristics. The aim of this study was to disprove such claims, and show that the metaphysics of the transcendental writers more resembled a Christian view of the world; albeit a revised stance in which nature, the individual and man’s intuition sat at the center of their theology. The areas of focus were the perceptions of the physical world, the self and the soul and how notions of democracy manifested themselves in both transcendentalist and Buddhist beliefs on how individuals interact with the worlds they inhabit. The results of this study concluded that Emerson, Thoreau and Whitman all failed to exhibit fundamental Buddhist beliefs. Although Emerson and Thoreau believed in reincarnation and attempted a fusion of science and spirituality into one overall theory, they still clung to a belief in a permanent soul and a dualistic vision of reality. Whitman came closer to the Buddhist approach of non-dualism and a reality consisting of compounded interdependent phenomena; however, his ambiguity and vagueness prevented any conclusive similarities from being identified. Moreover, his belief in a theory of transmigration that led toward perfection and an element of design and intent within reality more resembled the notion of a creator, and led to the conclusion that like Emerson and Thoreau, he is best viewed as a Christian reformer.
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