Western man has always sought to define his identity in the world that he knows. This challenge has led him to two polar views. These views are the Lockean approach where man is shaped by what he takes in from without and the Leibnitzean approach where man shapes himself from within. As the champion of a self-reliant individualism, Ralph Waldo Emerson would seem to be leading the van in support of an individual playing a vital role in choosing and determining his destiny. However, when one looks at Emerson's idealism, it becomes evident that the Oversoul is the dominant factor in life. All a man can do is to be open to it. Instead of a unique expression of man's biographical identity, man should strive to be an Aeolian Harp to the Oversoul. Man's choices are only to submit to the social customs of the day or to submit to the presence of the Oversoul. The true man has no personal identity except that of the Oversoul playing across the strings of his being. He is an instrument but never the player.
