Thursday, September 11, 2014

Emerson, Nietzsche, and Sri Aurobindo

Emerson and the Light of India by Robert C. Gordon has a chapter on Sri Aurobindo where the author notes that Sri Aurobindo doesn't appear to have read even a page of Emerson. However, he enumerates several commonalities between their philosophies and hastens to add that Emerson precedes Sri Aurobindo as far as Evolution is concerned.

Reviewing Cousins' book Sri Aurobindo commented, "Each essay is indeed excellent in itself; that on Emerson is a masterpiece of fullness in brevity, for it says perfectly in a few pages all that need be said about Emerson the poet and nothing that need not be said..." Of course, the essay deals more with poetry than philosophy.

Lastly, Emerson's influence in shaping Nietzsche's thought is a crucial point. Besides, Sri Aurobindo also shares concern on the Problem of Rebirth with Emerson. [TNM55]

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