The eye is the first circle. The horizon which it forms is the second. And throughout nature, this primary figure is repeated without end. It is the highest emblem in the cipher of the world. Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay, Circles, reflects on the fluidity and ephemerality of nature.
and how that extends to our society, the universe, and ultimately us individuals. In this video, we will discuss what Emerson means by circles, how they are found in nature and society, how it applies to individuals, and what we can learn from it all. Circles serve as a metaphor on a couple levels.
First, it refers to the cycle of nature, which is fluid and does not remain permanent. The sun rises, the sun sets. Flowers bloom, flowers wither.
The cycle repeats itself. Our life is an apprenticeship to the truth that around every circle, another can be drawn. That there is no end in nature, but every end is a beginning. That there is always another dawn risen on mid-noon, and under every deep.
A lower deep opens. There has always been an argument about whether history is cyclical or linear. But even if we are to say the course of human history is linear, Emerson's ideas of circles is still relevant.
As mentioned here, every end is a beginning. And Emerson also states that new art destroys the old. New technologies and inventions replace the old ones, making them obsolete. New ideas either add on to or replace old ones, and this is a continuous process as nothing is final in history.
Once we think we have reached a final point in technological advancement or ideological progress, they are bound to be replaced by new ones in the future. Something similar happens to us individuals as we progress through our lives. Emerson writes, The life of man is a self-evolving circle, which, from a ring imperceptibly small, rushes on all sides, outwards, to new and larger circles, and that without end. The extent to which this generation of circles, wheel without wheel, will go, depends on the force or truth of the individual soul.
Here, circles represent the human experience and identity. We all begin our lives with a certain set of knowledge and values, usually instilled to us by our immediate environments, such as family, school, and culture. This initial set of knowledge and values form the very first circles of our lives.
And as we get older and gain new knowledge, perspectives, and experiences, we start drawing new circles around the old ones. Sometimes the new circles fortify the old ones. Sometimes the new circles are fortified by the old ones. Sometimes the new circles alter old circles in certain ways. Other times, the new circles might outright replace the old circles, if that serves us the best.
We have all had moments in our lives where we had basic information about a particular topic or field, then we gained new insights and skills that would have been impossible without the basics. Those are cases of us drawing new circles around the old ones, and one of them strengthening the other. We have also had moments where new information changed the way we view or understand old information or values.
Those are instances of new circles altering old circles. We can also think of times when the new information proved that our old knowledge or values were simply incorrect. Those times would be examples of new circles outright replacing the old ones. Regardless of where we are in our lives, we can all relate to at least one of these examples.
This is exactly what Emerson means by drawing new circles. And how far we can go will solely depend on the force of the individual souls. If we choose so, this can be a lifelong process, and there will always be new things to learn. There is no virtue which is final. All are initial.
The virtues of society are vices of the saint. This concept that no virtue, no idea, no information is final is a crucial point of this essay. While we must commit to lifelong learning, we must also be humble enough to realize that there are no ultimate truths. At a societal level.
I think this concept keeps both old and new ideas in check. While traditions have a time and place in society, if they stopped serving society and lost relevance, then they are definitely not final and need to be reconsidered. However, new for the sake of new is not enough in the big picture. New ideas too radical to have long-term benefits for a society are also not final. they will have to be re-examined and modified as well.
So how do we individuals continuously grow and draw new circles? Emerson has a few suggestions, having conversations being one of them. Conversation is a game of circles. In conversation, we pluck up the termini, which bound the common of silence on every side. Conversations are where we get to share and clash our circles with the circles of others by exchanging and challenging each other's ideas and perspectives.
This is obviously a great way to gain fresh viewpoints and opinions, and it can help us draw new conclusions about things we already know. But Emerson was also keen on the possibilities of our minds after conversations. Good as is discourse, silence is better and shames it.
While conversations are great learning opportunities, what really determines the quality of the conversation and what we gain from it depends on what happens after the conversation is over. Conversation can act as a catalyst for a breakthrough, but that can only happen if we are capable of absorbing and distilling value from the conversation afterwards when we reflect on it. The silence following the conversation is perhaps more valuable than the conversation itself.
This is exactly when we start drawing new circles. Literature is a point outside of our Houdiernal circle. through which a new one may be described. The use of literature is to afford us a platform whence we may command a view of our present life, a purchase by which we may move it. Studying great literature from different time periods and different cultures is a great way to draw new and larger circles.
This is one of the best ways for us to explore the minds and viewpoints outside of our immediate surroundings. There is certainly a limit to the degree of perspectives we can encounter in our day-to-day lives, but immersing ourselves in great literature can expand that right away. Emerson finishes his thoughts on literature by stating, The field cannot be well seen from within the field. The astronomer must have his diameter of the Earth's orbit as a base to find the parallax of any star. Emerson also recommends the spirit of experimentation.
Do not set the least value on what I do, or the least discredit on what I do not, as if I pretended to settle anything as true or false. I unsettle all things. No facts are to me sacred.
None are profane. I simply experiment, an endless seeker with no past at my back. Here, we can clearly see Emerson's humility. He does not claim to have everything figured out. He is telling us that he is on the quest of lifelong learning, just like us.
He is experimenting by constantly trying out new ideas, as we should all be doing. Because once again, there is no virtue which is final. All are initial. So if we want to continue growing as individuals, We need to have a beginner's mind and embrace the fact that we all have much to learn. We all need to experiment with different ideas and never settle.
In nature, Every moment is new. The past is always swallowed and forgotten. The coming only is sacred.
Nothing is secure but life, transition, the energizing spirit. No love can be bound by oath or covenant to secure it against a higher love. No truth so sublime, but it may be trivial tomorrow in the light of new thoughts. People wish to be settled. Only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them.
Many people stop learning and growing because they enjoy being settled. No stimulating conversations, no challenging literature, and no intellectual experimentation going on in their lives. Being settled, after all, is quite comfortable, and who doesn't like comfort? It is clear to us that Emerson did not advocate for such a lifestyle. The second part of the final line, only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them, says it all.
Emerson didn't want us to suffer or punish ourselves. He pushed against settling because improving and reinventing ourselves continuously is a way of finding meaning and feeling alive. Perhaps he felt that keeping up with history, as it draws new circles, was the best way to keep a youthful spirit. Whilst we converse with what is above us, we do not grow old, but grow young. Emerson did not want us to settle.
He did not want us to conform to any certain ideology. He wanted us to continue our journey of drawing and expanding our circles until the very last day of our lives. I would like to finish the video with my favorite paragraph from the essay.
Life is a series of surprises. We do not guess today the mood, the pleasure, the power of tomorrow. When we are building up our being, of lower states, of acts of routine and sense, we can tell somewhat.
But the masterpieces of God, the total growths, and universal movements of the soul he hideth. They are incalculable. I can know that truth is divine and helpful, but how it shall help me I can have no guess, for so to be is the sole inlet of so to know. The new position of the advancing man has all the powers of the old, yet has them all new.
It carries in its bosom all the energies of the past. Yet is itself an exhalation of the morning. I cast away in this new moment all my once hoarded knowledge, as vacant and vain. Now for the first time seem I to know anything rightly.
The simplest words, we do not know what they mean, except when we love and aspire. Thank you for watching.