If I was asked to explain the essence of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self-Reliance to an eight year-old, I would say: "Don’t let
anybody tell you what do, listen only to yourself!" Self-Reliance is calling each man to trust himself. It urges to cast away all social influences such as: religion (especially catholic practices), proper behavior, attachment to property. Instead Emerson directs our consciousness' gaze in two directions: inward into oneself and outward into the future. In Self-Reliance Emerson identifies the two major faults of human society: conformity and consistency. These two illnesses encompass all that is described in the article. Emerson also goes into great efforts (and details) to prescribe the perfect medications. The cure for conformism is first and foremost original thinking; Emerson holds it at the highest esteem. Concepts of good and bad, of
responsibility and of
greatness are derived from the belief that man should be true only to himself and not be subjected to outer influences. Right and wrong are not determined by society- they are purely individual concepts. Every man is responsible only to himself- the notion of public responsibility should not exist. Greatness is the ability to keep to oneself in a crowd, and to completely discard the fierce reaction of society to nonconformist. The cure for consistency is spontaneity and intuition. In practical terms it means to live in the present for today, as all things in nature do. A man shouldn’t be chained to his past utterances or actions. One is allowed to change his opinion even at the cost of contradiction and the risk of being misunderstood. In this context Emerson criticizes everything that takes you into the past and out of your own immediate world. He puts special emphasis on religion and traveling as redundant practices that consume your power because they look backward and to different worlds.