What Thoreau thinks about society?

As a Transcendentalist, Thoreau believed that people should follow their own consciences rather than doing what society expects of them. This idea can very often be at odds with the idea of having a government.

How does Thoreau feel about technology?

Thoreau feels that it prevents an individual’s personal progress by creating a mind-numbing amount of labor and by imposing materialistic values. Thoreau also resented the way the new technological advancements made people feel like they were free when in reality they were being subjected to a new form of slavery.

What does Thoreau mean when he says let your life be the counter friction to stop the machine?

In his famous essay “Civil Disobedience,” Henry David Thoreau argues that people are accountable to their consciences first and their governments afterwards. Thoreau’s view is that only when citizens obey the dictates of their consciences, even when these are opposed to laws of the land, will governments become better.

What does Thoreau think about the news?

Thoreau concluded that following current events so closely was seldom worth it. “I am sure that I never read any memorable news in a newspaper,” he groused in one of his most famous put-downs.

Who were the Transcendentalists What influence did they have on Thoreau?

Henry David Thoreau was one of the most influential members of the transcendentalist movement. Transcendentalism was a philosophy that promoted self-reliance, intuition, and independence, and was heavily influenced by the European Romantic movement and Eastern religious texts.