EPISODE · Mar 3, 2025 · 15 MIN
Conversations in Philosophy: 'Circles' and other essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson
from Close Readings · host London Review of Books
Circular reasoning is normally condemned by philosophers, but in his 1841 essay ‘Circles’, Emerson proposes that not getting anywhere is precisely what we need to do to find out where we already are. In this episode, Jonathan and James consider Emerson’s use of the circle to demonstrate an idealistic philosophy rooted in the natural world, in which individuals are bounded by self-created horizons, and the extent to which this fits with Transcendentalist notions of progress and independence. They also discuss what his other essays, including ‘Self-Reliance’, ‘Art’ and ‘Nature’, have to say about the importance of thinking one’s own thoughts, and why Emerson had such a powerful influence on writers as varied as Nietzsche, Saul Bellow and Louisa May Alcott. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/applecrcip In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/closereadingscip Read 'Circles' here: https://emersoncentral.com/texts/essays-first-series/circles/ Read more in the LRB: Tony Tanner on the life of Emerson: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v17/n10/tony-tanner/arctic-habits Colin Burrow on the American canon: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v41/n22/colin-burrow/the-magic-bloomschtick LRB AUDIOBOOKS Discover audiobooks from the LRB, including Jonathan Rée's Becoming a Philosopher: Spinoza to Sartre: https://lrb.me/audiobookscip Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What this episode covers
Circular reasoning is normally condemned by philosophers, but in his 1841 essay ‘Circles’, Emerson proposes that not getting anywhere is precisely what we need to do to find out where we already are. In this episode, Jonathan and James consider Emerson’s use of the circle to demonstrate an idealistic philosophy rooted in the natural world, in which individuals are bounded by self-created horizons, and the extent to which this fits with Transcendentalist notions of progress and independence. They also discuss what his other essays, including ‘Self-Reliance’, ‘Art’ and ‘Nature’, have to say about the importance of thinking one’s own thoughts, and why Emerson had such a powerful influence on writers as varied as Nietzsche, Saul Bellow and Louisa May Alcott. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/applecrcip In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/closereadingscip Read 'Circles' here: https://emersoncentral.com/texts/essays-first-series/circles/ Read more in the LRB: Tony Tanner on the life of Emerson: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v17/n10/tony-tanner/arctic-habits Colin Burrow on the American canon: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v41/n22/colin-burrow/the-magic-bloomschtick LRB AUDIOBOOKS Discover audiobooks from the LRB, including Jonathan Rée's Becoming a Philosopher: Spinoza to Sartre: https://lrb.me/audiobookscip Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Conversations in Philosophy: 'Circles' and other essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson
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