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Can you really learn about human nature by removing yourself from the company of other humans? Henry David Thoreau thought it was a possibility and gave it a shot by moving to Walden Pond and completely isolating himself from other people. (He did bring his dirty laundry home for his mother to do, but hey—who wouldn't?)

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:00

Walden, a la Shmoop. Thoreau... is a bit of a tree-hugger.

00:11

In fact, he loves trees so much that we wouldn't be surprised if they did more than just hug.

00:18

Hey, as long as the tree is of age, who are we to judge?

00:21

In Walden, Thoreau embarks on an experiment to discover more about human nature...

00:26

...by pretty much barricading himself in a remote cabin near Walden Pond.

00:30

No telephone, no television, no Playstation.

00:36

Man, we hope he brought a deck of cards.

00:39

Okay, so there may not have been many electronic gadgets in his day...

00:43

...but even still, "spending quality time with a pond" probably wasn't on most of his

00:49

contemporaries' bucket lists. So... a valiant experiment... but can it work?

00:55

In other words... can you really learn about human nature...

00:58

...by removing yourself from the company of other humans?

01:02

We get what Thoreau was trying to do.

01:04

There were a lot of distractions in the world, even back then...

01:07

...and he was trying to get rid of all the emotional clutter, so he could really get

01:10

in touch with his inner self. So maybe he was onto something.

01:15

Maybe by giving himself time to sit, think and reflect...

01:18

...he had a chance to come to certain conclusions about life that other people didn't.

01:24

At the very least, he didn't have anyone banging down the bathroom door, demanding that he

01:28

spend less time on the toilet. But, although Thoreau retired to his cabin

01:32

to focus on nature, he didn't avoid human contact altogether.

01:37

Occasionally, he would have someone over, and would even go into town once in a while.

01:49

So was he just trying to learn about human nature by... cutting back on humans?

01:54

Almost like he was on a... "people" diet? It's possible he found a way to strike a good

02:03

balance...

02:04

...so that he could commune with Mother Nature without cutting himself off from society completely...

02:08

...or did he just have trouble spending every day, all day talking to his water lilies?

02:14

Then again, does spending time in nature teach us about... human nature?

02:19

Don't we need that daily interaction with other people to teach us about ourselves?

02:27

After all, the way we deal with others shapes the type of person we become.

02:32

If we had a domineering father, did we follow in his footsteps or rebel against him?

02:41

How did our first romantic rejection affect our view of love?

02:44

Did we let that woman who spit at us on the subway ruin our entire day?

02:50

So... we're glad that Thoreau was able to get a little R&R...

02:53

...but we wonder if he actually accomplished what he set out to accomplish.

02:59

Could enveloping himself in nature really help him learn more about the human condition?

03:05

Was the peace and quiet all he needed to arrive at some weighty revelations?

03:09

Was... reducing his daily people intake... and finding a balance... the answer?

03:14

Or was he on a fool's errand... futilely attempting to learn about the soul while surrounding

03:18

himself with shrubbery? Shmoop amongst yourselves.

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