Final answer:
Transcendentalists saw society and its institutions as corrupting factors towards individual purity, promoting self-reliance and a connection with nature instead.
Step-by-step explanation:
The transcendentalists considered society and its institutions, especially organized religion and political parties, to be corrupt forces that undermined the purity of the individual. They championed the concepts of self-reliance, the inherent goodness of both humans and nature, and believed in the potential for individuals to transcend the limitations of intellect and reason, thus achieving a mystical union with the universe. Influential transcendentalists like Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote extensively about these ideals, promoting a life of simplicity and a close relationship with nature.