Definition: Steiner Rudolf

A great admirer of Goethe, he distinguished himself as a philosopher, man of letters, playwright, architect, and above all as a promoter of new teaching methods based on the search for spiritual insight. He was behind projects as diverse as Waldorf schools, biodynamic agriculture, Weleda medicines and cosmetics, the Camphill movement and the Christian Community. He was secretary general of the German section of the Theosophical Society.

Steiner conceived of history as an evolution of which individual thought is the most recent achievement, from which the great discoveries of the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution stem. History itself is nourished by individual evolutionary experiences that unfold through numerous successive existences or incarnations.
He saw the spiritual realm as being connected to the physical realm through the activity of human thought. Steiner described his anthroposophical system in these words:
"Anthroposophy is a path of knowledge that seeks to lead the spiritual in human beings to the spiritual in the universe. It arises from a need of the heart and the soul. Its justification must be found in its ability to satisfy this need. Only those who find in anthroposophy what they need to seek from their own inner being can recognise its validity. Therefore, only people who feel certain questions about the nature of humanity and the world as a vital necessity, just as one feels hunger and thirst, can be anthroposophists."
— Rudolf Steiner, 1924, in The Outlines of Anthroposophy §1, GA 26.
His father, Johann Steiner (1829-1910), was first a gamekeeper in the service of Count Hoyos in Geras, and later became a telegraph operator and stationmaster. His father was stationed in Kraljevi when he married Franziska Blie (1834-1918) in 1860. Rudolf Steiner was born in this region of Meimurje (now in northern Croatia), which was part of Austria-Hungary at the time. When he was two years old, the family moved to Pottschach in Burgenland (Austria), at the foot of the Eastern Alps. Born on 25 February 1861 in Kraljevec, Rudolf Steiner had his first experiences of 'clairvoyance' at the ages of seven and nine. From an early age, Steiner showed a keen interest in mathematics and philosophy. He began studying mathematics, physics and chemistry at the Technische Hochschule (polytechnic) in Vienna, but did not complete his studies. Instead, he turned his attention to literary studies and philosophy at the University of Rostock in Germany, and received his doctorate for his thesis Truth and Science in 1891. He met a herbalist on a train a few times, a simple man but intuitively connected to nature, with whom he discussed occultism and hermeticism. The latter introduced him to an unknown master, possibly Felix Koguzki (1833-1909), with whom he is said to have discussed two or three times. Some anthroposophists cite "Christian Rosenkreutz", although he is generally considered a mythical figure. The master encouraged him to base his spiritual knowledge on the theories of the materialist biologist Ernst Haeckel and to clothe his understanding of the spiritual in German idealism. His experience as a tutor and teacher to the Specht family's children led him to a deep understanding of psychology. Although he did not yet have a university degree, he was recommended by his literature professor Karl Julius Schröer to the publisher Kürchner. In 1882, Kürschner called on Steiner to edit Goethe's scientific works, the first volume of which appeared in 1884 and the fourth only in 1897.
Rediscoverer of Goethe, poet and scientist:
In 1888, Steiner was invited by Grand Duchess Sophie of Saxony to edit Goethe's complete scientific works in Weimar, where he worked until 1896. At the same time, he collaborated on a complete edition of Arthur Schopenhauer's works.
He first laid the foundations for his philosophy in Die Philosophie der Freiheit (The Philosophy of Freedom) in 1894.
"Anyone who wishes to do so can already find the fundamental principles of anthroposophy in my Philosophy of Freedom. I want to emphasise only one point today: that this Philosophy of Freedom, by an internal necessity, first draws attention everywhere to a spiritual realm from which, for example, moral impulses are drawn. So that, in the sense of The Philosophy of Freedom, one cannot remain in the world of the senses, but must progress to a spiritual realm founded in itself.
The existence of a spiritual world even takes on this completely different concrete form: human beings, in their deepest being, are not closely connected to the sensible world, but are, in this deepest being, closely connected to the spiritual world. These two things: first, that a spiritual world exists, and second, that human beings, in the innermost core of their being, are closely connected to this spiritual realm, are clearly the fundamental points of The Philosophy of Freedom. Rudolf Steiner, 11 June 1923.
Modern science has confined itself to the study of the sensible world since Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, which postulates that even if the world is not limited to sensible reality, any other reality is inaccessible to man. R. Steiner wanted to demonstrate that the scientific method allows us to go beyond the sensible and observe the supersensible worlds objectively. This access is achieved through senses that lie dormant in every human being and must be awakened. The Philosophy of Freedom and Initiation, or How to Acquire Knowledge of Higher Worlds show the ways to access these worlds. Steiner first wanted to show the harmful effects of what he called the 'unhealthy faith in Kant', which stipulated that the 'thing-in-itself' remains forever unknowable (Bamford, 2002:16). This position is absurd, since, according to him, nature needs the cognitive activity of human beings in order to manifest itself through them. Imbued with German idealism and Naturphilosophie, he considers that the external world is only half of the totality of 'reality', the other half being our subjective world as a very real phenomenon. Having appropriated Goethe's science, he conceives that imaginative knowledge can enter into the life of plant metamorphoses and that, in the world of ideas, man can have direct experience of the activity of spiritual beings. This is even necessary, according to him, because it is thus that he completes the 'outer' world and brings it into being. In doing so, he frees the 'spirits of nature' who have taken it upon themselves to be bewitched in the realms of nature. The rose has passed from the realm of ideas to that of manifestations in order to reveal itself to human consciousness, to be perceived and thought about, which allows it to enter the inner world of man, which completes and liberates it. It needs to interact with consciousness in order to come into being, to acquire its "reality". According to him, the purpose of knowledge is not to repeat something pre-existing in a conceptual form, but to create a completely new sphere which, when combined with the world of the senses, constitutes total reality. The highest human activity is spiritual creativity, which is an organic part of the universal process of the world. Humans have never been passive observers outside the world; they are co-creators of the world. For Steiner, the activity of the mind constitutes 'the most perfect link with the organism of the universe' (Steiner, 1892).
It was during this period that his work led Mrs Forster-Nietzsche to ask him to organise Nietzsche's archive in Naumburg, after which he wrote his book Friedrich Nietzsche, a Fighter Against His Time.
In 1897, he moved to Berlin to edit the Magazin für Literatur.
Biographical timeline:
Before anthroposophy
* 1861
25 February, born in Kraljevec, then on the Austro-Hungarian border, now in Croatia. His parents were Austrian.
* 1869
The Steiner family moved to Neudörfl, now in Austria.
* 1872
In October, enrols at the modern and technical secondary school in Wiener-Neustadt (Realeschule).
* 1875
Began to take an interest in philosophy.
* 1877
The young Steiner studies Kant's philosophy.
* 1879
Graduates with honours.
He studies philosophy, particularly Fichte.
In October, he becomes a student at the Vienna Technical University.
Meets Karl Julius Schröer. He also attends courses at the university.
* 1880
Met Felix Kogutzki, the herbalist who introduced him to traditional occultism and is said to have introduced him to an eminent "spiritual master".
* 1882
Schröer recommends Steiner to Josef Kürschner as editor of Goethe's scientific works.
The Steiner family moves to the Vienna area.
* 1883
Completes the first volume for Josef Kürschner (published in 1884).
In October, he ends his higher education because he is more interested in philosophy.
* 1884
Becomes tutor to the Specht children and devotes himself to young Otto, who has hydrocephalus.
Begins a correspondence with Eduard von Hartmann.
* 1886
Frequents the salon of the poet Eugénie delle Grazie and the theologians in her circle. Agrees to collaborate on the publication of Goethe's scientific works in the great Weimar edition, known as the "Grand Duchess Sophie" edition. Studies the archives of Goethe and Schiller.
Publication of "Foundations of an Epistemology of Goethe's World Conception, with Special Reference to Schiller" (GA 2).
* 1888
From January to July, edits the German weekly Deutsche Wochenschrift.
9 November: lecture: "Goethe, Father of a New Aesthetic".
* 1889
Reads Nietzsche.
Frequents Marie Lang's salon.
* 1890
Works at the Archives, expands his circle of acquaintances, including Ernst Haeckel, Hermann Grimm, Otto Erich Hartleben, etc.
* 1891
Doctoral thesis in philosophy at the University of Rostock. "The fundamental question of the theory of knowledge, with particular reference to Fichte's Doctrine of Science". Published in 1892 with an additional chapter under the title "Truth and Science", GA 3
* 1892
Lodges with Anna Eunike, who is a widow. He assists her in the education of her five children.
* 1893
Publication of "The Philosophy of Freedom", GA 4
* 1894
Continues his study of Nietzsche. Meets Nietzsche's sister, Elisabeth Förster, and establishes contact with the Nietzsche Archives in Naumburg.
* 1895
Publication of Nietzsche, a Man in Conflict with His Time, GA 5
* 1896
Prepares the edition of the works of Schopenhauer and Jean-Paul for the Cotta publishing house.
Completes his work for Kürschner.
* 1897
Publication of Goethe and His World View, GA 6
Moves to Berlin to live with the Eunike family.
Co-editor with Otto Erich Hartleben of the "Magazin für Litteratur"
Directs the staging of Maurice Maeterlinck's play "The Intruder"
Gives lectures at the Giordano Bruno scientific association and at Die Kommenden, an association for young researchers and writers.
* 1898
Series of lectures on "The Major Trends in German Literature from 1848 to the Present Day" at the Independent Literary Society.
* 1899
Began teaching history, science and the technique of oral expression at the People's University of Berlin founded by Wilhelm Liebknecht.
Publishes an article in the magazine für Litteratur entitled "Goethe's Secret Revelation".
Marries Anna Eunike in a civil ceremony.
The development of anthroposophy.
* 1900 At the request of Count Brockdorff, Steiner gives a lecture on Nietzsche at the Theosophical Library. A week later, he gives another lecture at the same venue, this time on Goethe.
During the winter, he gives a lecture on Gustav Theodor Fechner, which is attended by Marie de Sivers.
He ceases his activities at the editorial office of the Magazin für Litteratur.
* 1901
First series of lectures at the Theosophical Society on mysticism. Marie de Sivers attends these lectures.
Second series of lectures at the Theosophical Society in Berlin: Christianity, a mystical fact.
* 1902
In January, he becomes a member of the Theosophical Society.
In July, in London, he meets with the leaders of the Theosophical Society, including its president, Annie Besant.
In October, he founded the German Section of the Theosophical Society and became its secretary general. Marie de Sivers became his collaborator.
* 1903
Publication of the magazine Luzifer, which will be renamed Lucifer-Gnosis in 1904.
* 1904
His lecturing activities expanded, particularly outside Berlin.
Publication of the short book Theosophy, and writes articles for the journal Lucifer-Gnosis on the Akashic Records. Édouard Schuré's drama Les Enfants de Lucifer (The Children of Lucifer) is published in Lucifer-Gnosis.
Separates from his first wife, Anna Eunike, and lives with Marie von Sivers.
Annie Besant appoints him head of the Esoteric School of the German Section.
* 1905
Stops teaching at the People's University in Berlin. (Workers' training school).
Gives numerous lectures in Berlin.
24 November: Rudolf Steiner and Marie von Sivers join the Order of Memphis-Misraïm, whose Grand Master for England and Ireland is John Yarker.
* 1906
Theodor Reuss, Yarker's representative in Germany, grants Steiner the right to found a Chapter of the Memphis-Misraïm Rite to be called "Mystica Aeterna"; the contract is signed on 3 January 1906. The esoteric school's cult activities will take place there.
Numerous lectures in Berlin, Stuttgart, Cologne, Paris, Munich, and Düsseldorf.
At the end of 1906, he travelled to Italy with Marie de Sivers, spending Christmas and New Year in Venice.
* 1907
Numerous lectures in Berlin, Carlsruhe, Leipzig, Munich, Kassel, Stuttgart, Vienna, Basel, Nuremberg, Cologne.
In May, the European Theosophical Congress takes place in Munich. Édouard Schuré's play "The Sacred Drama of Eleusis" is performed there. Annie Besant and Rudolf Steiner realise that they have different conceptions of what esotericism should be.
At the end of May, with the 100th member affiliated to "Mystica Aeterna", Steiner becomes the leader of the Memphis-Misraïm Rite in Germany, with lodges established in Berlin, Cologne, Leipzig, Stuttgart and Munich.
Four-week trip to Italy during the summer, two weeks in Rome, then Pisa, Genoa, Milan, Lucerne, Bern and, on their return in September, a few days in Barr, Alsace, at the invitation of Édouard Schuré.
* 1908
Numerous lectures in Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Leipzig.
Another trip to Italy by sea on the Adriatic. Visit to Paestum. Climb up Mount Vesuvius.
* 1909
Schuré's play Les enfants de Lucifer (The Children of Lucifer) is performed at the Theosophical Summer Congress in Munich.
Spring, invited to Rome by Princess del Drago. Lectures in Rome. Stayed at the Palazzo del Drago in the rooms where Winkelmann had lived and developed his ideas on art, which had greatly interested Goethe.
* 1910
In the spring, another two-week stay in Italy.
Publication of the work "The Science of the Occult in Outline".
Performance of the first mystery play:
Numerous lectures in Berlin, Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, Heidelberg, Pforzheim, Kassel, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Vienna, Stuttgart, Munich, Rome, Palermo, Hanover, Hamburg, Oslo, and Bern.
* 1911
In March, series of lectures in Prague on "Occult Physiology".
17 March, death of Anna Steiner-Eunike.
In the spring, three-month stay on the Adriatic coast, then two weeks in Austria, for the recovery of Marie de Sivers.
Lecture in Bologna on the occasion of the International Philosophy Congress.
Marie de Sivers translates Schuré's book "Les Sanctuaires d'Orient" (The Sanctuaries of the East).
In September, trip to Italy. Lectures in Switzerland and Milan.
In the autumn, conflict with Annie Besant concerning the Alcyone-Krishnamurti affair, whom she wants to pass off as the reincarnation of Christ.
Lectures in Berlin, Stuttgart, Cologne, Koblenz, Basel, Munich, Copenhagen, Lugano, Milan, Neuchâtel, Karlsruhe, Leipzig, Nuremberg, Hanover.
* 1912
Last trip to Italy, visits Florence, Perugia, Assisi. Two lectures in Milan.
Lectures in Hanover, Berlin, Munich, Winterthur, Zurich, Kassel, Breslau, Vienna, Stuttgart, Helsinki, Helsingsfors, Stockholm, Düsseldorf, Copenhagen, Norrköping, Cologne, Hamburg, Basel, Milan, Neuchâtel, St. Gallen, Bern.
Autumn 1912, first steps in eurythmy, the art of movement.
End of 1912, separation from the Theosophical Society.
Christmas, foundation of the Anthroposophical Society.
* 1913
2 and 3 February, first general meeting of the Anthroposophical Society. Steiner held no administrative position, only that of teacher and spiritual guide. He was not even a member. The leadership was to be provided by a committee of three people: Carl Unger, Michael Bauer, and Marie de Sivers.
Official expulsion from the Theosophical Society on 7 March 1913 by decision of Adyar.
In May, trip to Paris for the founding of the Saint-Michel Group, visit to Chartres with Schuré and Marie de Sivers.
20 September, laying of the foundation stone for the future Goetheanum in Dornach.
Lectures in Cologne, Berlin, Linz, Vienna, Tübingen, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Munich, The Hague, Breslau, Düsseldorf, London, Paris, Strasbourg, Helsinki, Helsingsfors, Oslo, Bergen, Copenhagen, Leipzig.
* 1914
The war limits Steiner's travels to Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
1 April, celebration of the erection of the fir trees, the framework of the Goetheanum is built.
In August, war breaks out and they quickly return to Dornach from Bayreuth.
24 December, Steiner marries Marie von Sivers.
Lectures in Leipzig, Berlin, Stuttgart, Pförzheim, Munich, Vienna, Dornach, Paris, Basel, and Norrköping.
Closure of the esoteric school, which had been operating since 1904.
* 1915
Lectures in Berlin, Dornach, Vienna, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart
* 1916
Lectures in Bern, Liestal, Berlin, Leipzig, Stuttgart, Dornach, Zurich, Basel.
Highly controversial booklet "Thoughts in Wartime" published in Berlin, causing Édouard Schuré to resign.
* 1917
Triarticulation of the social organism, social and political activities, memoranda submitted to senior officials in Berlin and Vienna, which went unheeded.
First formulation of the threefold social order of the human being.
Lectures in Dornach, Berlin, Zurich, St. Gallen, Basel.
* 1918
Lectures in Dornach, Bern, Munich, Stuttgart, Berlin, Heidenheim, Ulm, Hamburg, Basel.
* 1919
Foundation of the Waldorf School in Stuttgart.
Numerous lectures in Basel, Zurich, Dornach, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Ulm, Berlin.
* 1920
Lectures in Stuttgart, Basel, Dornach, Zurich, Bern.
* 1921
Lectures in Stuttgart, Dornach, The Hague, Bern, Oslo, Berlin, Basel, several conferences.
*
Lectures in Dornach, Bern, The Hague, London, Vienna, Stuttgart, Oxford, Berlin
Steiner escapes an attack by fascist disrupters at the end of a lecture given in Munich. From then on, he no longer gives public lectures in Germany.
Foundation of the Christian Community.
31 December, arson attack on the Goetheanum.
*
Lectures in Dornach, Stuttgart, Bern, Basel, Penmaenmawr, Prague, Ilkey, London, The Hague Creation of the new anthroposophical society: the Universal Anthroposophical Society, with Steiner as president and Albert Steffen as vice-president. Creation of the School of Spiritual Science.
* 1924
1 January: Steiner claimed to have been poisoned.
Lectures in Dornach, Bern, Zurich, Stuttgart, Prague, Paris, Koberwitz, Breslau, Arnheim, Torquay, and London.
At the end of March, Steiner completes the model of the second Goetheanum.
May, first general meeting of the Anthroposophical Society in France.
June, birth of curative education in Jena; birth of biodynamics following a series of lectures given to farmers in Koberwitz.
July: Anthroposophical and educational congress in Arnhem, Netherlands.
28 September, last lecture to members.
From 1 October, Steiner is bedridden. He continues his "Autobiography" and "The Guidelines of Anthroposophy" for publication in "Das Goetheanum".
* 1925 Completes, with Ita Wegman, the medical work that forms the basis of anthroposophical medicine. "Basic Data for an Enlargement of the Art of Healing"
Steiner died on 30 March at around 10 a.m.
References:
* Geneviève and Paul-Henri Bideau, Une biographie de Rudolf Steiner (A Biography of Rudolf Steiner), Editions Novalis, Paris 1997
* Wiesberger Hella, The Esoteric Teaching of Rudolf Steiner and Freemasonry, Ed. Anthroposophiques Romandes, Geneva 2004
* Wiesberger Hella, Marie Steiner de Sivers - A Life for Anthroposophy, Ed. Anthroposophiques Romandes, Geneva 1990.
* Rudolf Steiner Zur Geschichte und aus den Inhalten der Erkenntniskultischen Abteilung der Esoterischen Schule 1904-1914, in 2 volumes, Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach, 1987.
What is anthroposophy?
Anthroposophy is a spiritual conception of man and the universe. This conception obeys what is called the strong anthropic principle, i.e. that from the beginning of the evolution of our universe, human beings have been part of it, at least as spiritual seeds, and that the purpose of the universe is the development of man. In this concept, the Logos or Word, which was incarnated in Christ, plays a central role. Human beings are considered to be evolving beings, and their spiritual entity progresses from one life to the next, each time taking on a body and personality resulting from their karma. Between incarnations, the spiritual entity of the human being assimilates and transforms the fruits of its life on earth into strengths and abilities, and prepares for its next incarnation with the help of the celestial hierarchies. Steiner's anthropo-cosmogenesis is intended to describe the evolution of man in his relationship with the universe. The present-day human being is presented as a microcosm in the image of the macrocosm. Anthroposophy considers the human being by taking into account its supersensible bodies and spiritual components. This allows it to develop a holistic conception of the human being, which is fruitful in anatomy, physiology, medicine, etc. Nature is always considered in relation to the cosmos, and the universe and the earth are seen more as living beings than as super-mechanisms governed by chance. In nature and in human beings, anthroposophy examines above all processes, dynamic relationships and metamorphoses in the manner of Goethe, while taking the supersensible into account.
Contemporary anthroposophy does not reject science, but attempts to broaden it by including the supersensible in its hypotheses. By ignoring the supersensible, science can only construct truncated theories. Current science is still essentially Kantian. It has limited its knowledge of man and the universe by decreeing, with Kant, that knowledge is limited to what our senses and their extensions, measuring devices, can perceive, i.e., to the sensible world. Steiner, in his philosophical work, theoretically refuted this Kantian dogma.
Anthroposophy asserts that human beings have the ability to develop new faculties of perception that enable them to obtain information about the supersensible worlds. Furthermore, it is supposed to show the way to achieve this. Once these faculties have been developed, says Steiner, it is entirely possible to work with the rigour of a scientist.
Detailed article: anthroposophy.
The origin of the term anthroposophy:
The term anthroposophy is not a neologism coined by Rudolf Steiner. He borrowed it from the Viennese philosopher Robert Zimmermann (1824–1898), whom he particularly admired.
Main article: Anthroposophy#The origin of the term anthroposophy.
The method of spiritual science
In the past, esoteric teachings were only imparted to individuals who had been carefully selected by spiritual masters. These individuals underwent long and rigorous preparation in occult schools, which were the ancient mysteries. After the decline and disappearance of the ancient mysteries, esoteric teachings were imparted in secret societies, albeit in a diluted form. Steiner believes that times have changed and that esoteric knowledge can now, for the most part, be made public, and that the occult must therefore be revealed. Steiner considers that there are several stages on the path to clairvoyance. The first is the study of esoteric truths.