Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson

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In his famous essay “Self Reliance” Ralph Waldo Emerson claims that technological advancements in our society actually hurt us by increasing our dependence on machines. If Mr. Emerson was writing this essay today instead of 1841, it would be full of various machines that have improved man’s lives but have not improved man’s dependence on himself. In essence, when man ceases to rely on his own abilities, man becomes a weak creature dependent not on himself, or other men, but on machines. Machines are by their very nature faulty. Their parts wear out, or they become outdated, and when this happens they become useless. If all men are dependent on machines, then according to Emerson’s rationale when the technology becomes obsolete so does man. First, Emerson supports his idea with concrete examples from his time period. He states “….man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet.” He continues saying man now has a fancy “Geneva watch”, but cannot tell the time by the sun. These are valid examples of how machinery advances has made mankind less dependent on himself for simple tasks like transportation and time management. Simple knowledge that rich and poor alike once could accomplish, like identifying the changing of the seasons by the solstice and the equinox are now a but a memory according to Emerson. For his time period, Emerson is using things that he knows and the one that everyone is familiar with. He is trying to make a point, and he is trying to draw society attention to what could happen if society continues in this
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