Henry Thoreau’s Wildness: Living a “Wild and Free” Life

Abstract

The anthropocentric ethos of American Transcendentalism denies the ultimate reality of nature because it posits the human mind as the sole provenance of reality. The naturalist in Henry David Thoreau (1817-62) revolted, resorting to nature as the very source of all life. His revolt never led to a complete break with Emersonian idealism, but it signalled the coming of a Thoreau who enlisted all his senses in engaging with the natural world. This sensuous approach helped him to enliven his yearning for the wild, which he translated into such virtues as freedom, self-reliance and simplicity. Thus his wildness lent itself to the whole gamut of his life: his stay at Walden Pond; his habitual walks; his occasional trips; his literary efforts; his study of nature; his idea of economy and government. By giving in to the pull of this elemental craving, Thoreau not only brought home to us the importance of our interaction with nature, but left an indelible mark on the terms of ecology and environmentalism.