What is a literal definition of “transcendental”? Explain the value of

What is a literal definition of “transcendental”? Explain the value of such a view in American life. What special contribution does this point of view make to American culture?

What will be an ideal response?

ANSWER
A dictionary definition of “transcendental” stresses phrases such as “beyond experience,” “beyond the rational,” “remote from practical affairs,” and “the primacy of the spiritual against the material and empirical.” So much of America’s value and belief system stresses the practical, the concrete, reasoned thought, and material values, that transcendentalism provides a healthy counter value.