James Freeman Clarke once dubbed the transcendentalists the "club of the likeminded; I suppose because no two of us think alike." But despite the disagreement among transcendentalists themselves, the overall movement shared similar philosophies. These philosophies rested on the Lockean concept of Idealism and Kant's belief in intuition. In other words, transcendentalism opposed empiricism, which is gaining knowledge from experience. Physical world observations were only appearances of reflections of the spirit. One should learn of the spiritual world through reason alone, thus guiding one towards the ultimate goal, Absolute Truth. Transcendentalists stressed the importance of self-reliance (see "Self-Reliance," Ralph Waldo Emerson) in order to access the one divine Oversoul. These philosophies largely reflect the Neoplatonic philosophy of the ancient Greeks.
In application, American transcendentalism urged a reform in society, and that such a reform may be reached if individuals resist customs and social codes, and rely rather on reason to learn what is right. Ultimately, transcendentalists believed that one should transcend society's code of ethics and rely on personal intuition in order to reach absolute goodness, or Absolute Truth.
Self-Reliance
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)
Civil
Disobedience (Henry David Thoreau)