Revue française d'études américaines 2002- 1 (no91)| ISSN | ISSN numérique : en cours | ISBN : | page 61 à 79 Distribution électronique Cairn pour les éditions Belin. © Belin. Tous droits réservés pour tous pays. Il est interdit, sauf accord préalable et écrit de l’éditeur, de reproduire (notamment par photocopie) partiellement ou totalement le présent article, de le stocker dans une banque de données ou de le communiquer au public sous quelque forme et de quelque manière que ce soit.

ABSTRACT — Influenced by the transcendentalism of Coleridge, Emerson’s works may seem to be a renewal of Kantian idealism. But, by promoting intellectual intuition, Emerson gets rid of the essential Kantian distinction between the transcendent and the transcendental. In so doing, Emerson is directly faithful to Coleridge’s absolute idealism. Nevertheless, the rediscovery of the ordinary life leads him, against Coleridge, to recapture the spirit of the Kantian criticism, given that his opposition between ideal life and common life represents the true limitation of the transcendent and transcendental. With his transcendentalism of the ordinary life, Emerson is therefore at the root of the modern philosophy that seeks for a third way between empiricism and idealism.

Influenced by the transcendentalism of Coleridge, Emerson’s works may seem to be a renewal of Kantian idealism. But, by promoting intellectual intuition, Emerson gets rid of the essential Kantian distinction between the transcendent and the transcendental. In so doing, Emerson is directly faithful to Coleridge’s absolute idealism. Nevertheless, the rediscovery of the ordinary life leads him, against Coleridge, to recapture the spirit of the Kantian criticism, given that his opposition between ideal life and common life represents the true limitation of the transcendent and transcendental. With his transcendentalism of the ordinary life, Emerson is therefore at the root of the modern philosophy that seeks for a third way between empiricism and idealism.
Keywords : , Emerson, Coleridge, Kant, Ordinary, _Idealism.