CEFContemporary Education Frontiers3029-18793029-1860Bio-Byword Scientific Publishing Pty. Ltd.10.18063/CEF.v3i8.891ArticleEnvironmental Ethics in Emerson’s Works: An Analysis of His Views of Transcendentalist Nature, Literature and Art, Lifestyle, and Educationhttps://artdesignp.com/journal/CEF/3/8/10.18063/CEF.v3i8.891HongLi2025382025-09-26This study examines the environmental-ethical dimensions in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s selected works through textual analysis of his transcendental view of nature, literary and artistic outlook integrating nature and the “oversoul”, view of a nature-returning lifestyle, and Emerson’s educational perspective of the pursuit of divinity and self-perfection. By interpreting these themes through an environmental ethics lens, the paper uncovers the underlying ecological values embedded within Emerson’s literary and philosophical project. The analysis demonstrates that his transcendental conception of nature. A his literary perspective, his call for a return to natural living, and his vision of self-cultivation collectively express a profound environmental ethos. This inquiry holds significant theoretical and practical implications for the research and development of Emerson’s environmental ethics, ethical literary criticism and the ecocritical study of American nature writing, and the advancement of global ecological civilization.Environmental ethics,Transcendentalism,Nature,Oversoul,Returning to nature,Individual perfection

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