As important and symbolic in the United States as the notions of freedom and equality in France, self-reliance refers not only to self-confidence but also to the autonomy of the individual. The soul is active: it uses its own judgment and reveals a non-conformism, as fierce as it is vital. Emerson invites us to rely on the present, to always live in a new day. This active confidence in oneself works both emotionally and practically. Petri of life-giving formulas, this unclassifiable work is a salutary invitation to rely on oneself. Not out of pure individualism, quite the contrary. And that is where philosophy can still act.