The “Lords of Life” and Emerson’s View of the Human Condition

The American writer and thinker Ralph Waldo Emerson published his essay “Experience” in 1844. Two years earlier Emerson had been thrown into a spiritual crisis with the death of his young son Waldo. In his essay Emerson finds himself enjoined to rethink his world-view and the meaning of human existence. He gives a rich portrayal of the experience of nihilism by means of a series of personified concepts which he refers to as the “lords of life.” Emerson’s essay can be seen as his attempt to formulate a response to nihilism and meaninglessness. He proposes a few possible solutions to the problem, such as urging his readers to abandon tedious intellectual discussions and abstract thoughts about the human condition and simply focus on their projects and pursuits in the world. The present article argues that despite Emerson’s appreciation of the depths of the nihilism, his proposals to remedy the problem are unsatisfying.