Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) was an American philosopher, essayist, and poet, and a central figure of Transcendentalism. He championed individual autonomy, self-trust, and a direct relationship between the human spirit and nature. His essays, including Self-Reliance and Nature, profoundly shaped American philosophy by articulating a non-dogmatic spirituality rooted in personal experience and inner freedom.