What Is Anthroposophy?: Three Spiritual Perspectives on Self-knowledge

by Rudolf Steiner, Christopher Bamford (Editor)

3 selected lectures by Rudolf Steiner This is one of those books that can change your life. Radical, thought-provoking, and indeed mind-boggling, it leads to a completely new way of looking at what it means to be human―a spiritual being in a universe that itself is not just physical, but psychic and spiritual as well. These three previously untranslated lectures are a masterly introduction to what Rudolf Steiner means by “Anthroposophy.” They explain why Steiner describes this path―which means literally “the wisdom of the human being”―as one that “unites what is spiritual in the human being with what is spiritual in the universe.” Steiner begins by describing what happens when we die. He shows the relationship between our physical life on Earth and the etheric, astral, and spiritual life of the cosmos. He also explains how physical lives are completely interwoven with cosmic existence, and how the “miss­ing links” in evolution are spiritual in nature. Steiner then demonstrates what he calls the “dilettantism” and “soullessness” of mainstream psychology. He points out that, since the second half of the nineteenth century, the idea of the soul has been lost and that, consequently, understanding of our inner lives is without a sure foundation. A very different view emerges, however, from a truly spiritual perspective. In the third lec­ture, Steiner takes as his guide our three states of being―waking, dreaming, and sleeping. He describes in detail what happens in these three states and how each is bound up with our lives as physical, psychic, and spiritual beings. With the profound insights in this book, the world becomes a much larger, richer, and more exciting place to live.

Genres: Spirituality

96 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

About the author

Author also wrote under the name Rudolph Steiner.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...


Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as a literary critic and published works including The Philosophy of Freedom. At the beginning of the twentieth century he founded an esoteric spiritual movement, anthroposophy, with roots in German idealist philosophy and theosophy. His teachings are influenced by Christian Gnosticism or neognosticism. Many of his ideas are pseudoscientific. He was also prone to pseudohistory.
In the first, more philosophically oriented phase of this movement, Steiner attempted to find a synthesis between science and spirituality. His philosophical work of these years, which he termed "spiritual science", sought to apply what he saw as the clarity of thinking characteristic of Western philosophy to spiritual questions,  differentiating this approach from what he considered to be vaguer approaches to mysticism. In a second phase, beginning around 1907, he began working collaboratively in a variety of artistic media, including drama, dance and architecture, culminating in the building of the Goetheanum, a cultural centre to house all the arts. In the third phase of his work, beginning after World War I, Steiner worked on various ostensibly applied projects, including Waldorf education, biodynamic agriculture, and anthroposophical medicine.
Steiner advocated a form of ethical individualism, to which he later brought a more explicitly spiritual approach. He based his epistemology on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's world view in which "thinking…is no more and no less an organ of perception than the eye or ear. Just as the eye perceives colours and the ear sounds, so thinking perceives ideas." A consistent thread that runs through his work is the goal of demonstrating that there are no limits to human knowledge.

Reviews

[Alaina Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's three Rudolf Steiner lectures with a biographical introduction to who he is and some of his accomplishments. As my third of Steiner's work that I've read, I can't give you any better of an idea of what exactly he believed or what anthroposophy actually is, and I'm coming to realize this rather typical of Steiner. Understanding Anthroposophy is like trying to consume a whale, or swallow the ocean. It's huge, it's a completely different perspective of self and the world, the cosmos, and everything seen and unseen. It's confusing, and I'll probably read this book three more times to only understand it a tiny bit more. It's deep and can't be read quickly.

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book to confirm my understanding of Anthroposophy as part of my Barfield studies. It is a good read.

[SueEllen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful intro to Steiner’s basic perspectives of Anthroposophy, with the always insightful Christopher Bamford laying the foundation.