To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust. It is to solve some of the problems of life, not only theoretically but practically.1 [Walden first published by Ticknor and Fields in 1854] (Henry David Thoreau)

In his introduction to the 1983 edition of Walden, Michael Meyer, professor of American literature, wrote that "on July 4, 1845, while many Americans waved miniature flags amid the sounds of firecrackers and bells in honor of their country's independence, Henry David Thoreau [Civil Disobedience was first published in 1849] unceremoniously moved his meager belongings from his parents' home in Concord, Mass, to a cabin beside Walden Pond, where he would quietly declare and celebrate his own independence. For Thoreau, the true America was yet to be discovered, and its revolution was still only a promise rather than an achievement."2

In 1845, even as America was celebrating its independence, it was tolerating slavery and great poverty[horizontal ellipsis]many of its citizens were not free. Thoreau's conscience would not allow him to join what he considered to be a hollow celebration. During his 2 years of solitude, living in a simple hut by Walden Pond, Thoreau tried to understand his responsibilities to himself and to humanity. He supported himself by doing manual labor and, admittedly, had few personal needs. Although living only 2 miles from Concord, he was literally hundreds of miles away in spirit as he studied nature and wrote in his journal. Through his meditations and writings and practical life, he came to understand the dangers of theoretical and abstract ways of solving life's problems. Although there were many reform movements in his time, designed to better men's and women's fate, what Thoreau did not find was simple trust of one's own neighbor. He didn't see independence of thought, but rather passive obedience which, in his view, always causes great harm.

During those 2 years, he patiently observed and explored nature and his own relation and responsibility to it. He reflected on what it means to attain freedom of thought. To him, it meant continuous critical examination of one's own actions and thoughts, but also required examination of institutions, administrations, and those persons in powerful positions whose performances offer little benefit to humankind. We are, of course, aware of the influence of Thoreau's philosophy of nonviolence to confront political and social evils on Gandhi, Tolstoi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Thoreau was a constant witness to truth.

I think that if Thoreau were alive today, he would encourage us to become philosophers-lovers of wisdom, knowing that wisdom can be realized only through a constant embracing of the truth. He would urge us to be ever vigilant of those who cross moral and ethical boundaries in any area of human enterprise. And he would particularly remind us of the dangers of becoming only bystanders to the abuses of power in government and other institutions of our civilization.

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