The study of the philosophy of spirituality in the formal field of nursing has brought this to my attention. I am aware of transcendence possibly being a key part of the philosophy of spirituality in nursing. Emerson and Kant comment on transcendence but each view is different; the effect of time I speculate. So if time indeed has an effect on the evolution of the meaning of transcendence, what then does it mean today?
What is "the philosophy of spirituality in nursing?" As Malec (above) points out, some ideas are absolutely transcendent: gods are immortal and therefore transcend life and death. An ordinary mortal can transcend an obstacle to his or her "success" or wishes. But you seem to be wondering about metaphysical ideas of transcendence for which there may be no scientific substantiation.
The difference between Kant and Emerson isn't as big as it might seem. Kant was an important influence on Emerson. Emerson's exploration of individuality and freedom was not inconsistent with Kant's influence on the German society of his time. The notion of thinking for oneself about philosophical, religious or political matters began for Germany with Kant. Also he started the idea that our reality is all in our heads. On the other hand, Emerson was an American romantic and his ideas featured nature as a transcendent idea. Nature for him was a model for what we might aspire to and a spiritual thing.
Many people today are describing themselves as "spiritual but not religious." In my experience as a chaplain, these folks acknowledge and believe in a realm which is beyond physical experience but they do not believe in religion because they find it hampers their freedom of experience and expression. They see religious beliefs, codes, rituals, etc. and limiting their experience of what they describe (often quite subjectively) as "spiritual." Often their spiritual resources are poetry, nature, music, etc. Their spiritual practice includes mindfulness meditation and their own form of prayer. I have found the following books helpful on this topic: Barbara Ehrenreich's, Living with a Wild God; Linda Mercadante's, Belief Without Borders; and Christian Wiman's, My Bright Abyss.
First of all, transcendence is not the key part in the philosophy of the nurse or medicine spirituality, but spiritual or religious experience of the patient. This experience is perceived as a helping hand in patient's recovery process. This is the main reason why medicine (nursing) spirituality has an interest in transcendence. If the experience is a core, it is not transcendent any more, but it is immanent. Regarding the meaning of the term transcendence, it does not change (see Kielkiewicz, K., Dalzell, T., Towards Comprehension of Spirituality through Its Semantics)
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