What is the importance of philosophy in Emerson: Essays and Lectures?

While not an object in the usual sense it is a field. As such it comes into play throughout much of the book. This involves inquiry into some of the most pressing and challenging questions humanity has ever faced. Philosophy is often set against theology, but the two participate in much of the same core concerns regarding the nature of God, life and truth. Philosophy is the parent, or ancestor of other fields of knowledge, including all of the sciences which have themselves branched off. Much of the book includes and involves philosophy.