Striving
for Spiritual Science.
The
Practical Legacy or Rudolf Steiner.
Michael
Hallam
Key aspects of alternative living are starting to become
mainstream, and activities which were once considered to be very fringe, such as
buying organic food or visiting an alternative health practitioner are part of
most of our normal routine. As one begins to search beyond the strictly
conventional one finds all kinds of parallel institutions and activities, from
schools and farming systems to alternative clinics and even alternative
holidays. Many of these have been happily chugging along not only for years but
for decades.
One such ‘crop’ of institutions are those inspired by
the Austrian philosopher-scientist Rudolf Steiner. Plenty of people have had
some acquaintance with Steiner schools and Biodynamic farming. Others may have
heard about the Camphill Communities for people with special needs and many more
will be using the Weleda medical and cosmetic range of products, but what about
the movement which has inspired these social and economic initiatives.
The purpose of this short article is to give a potted
guide, for the benefit of the uninitiated, into the Steiner impulse and the
almost 100 years of development that has followed.
The young Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Steiner is one of those luminary, almost
mythological figures, who some people sometimes refer to in hushed and revered
tones. But in essence the contribution of the man is quite simple, although the
complexity lies in the details. The principle contribution, which Steiner made,
was the development and promotion of ‘Spiritual Science’. Its governing
principle is that the spiritual/non physical aspects of existence should be
investigated using the same principles of logic, reason and objectivity as the
scientific investigation of the physical world. This is a development that
builds upon earlier work done by the artist and scientist Goethe. Goethe’s
work sought to look beyond the artificial barrier that exists between spirit and
matter and to objectively observe the interrelations between the two. Unlike
matter-only science, which achieves its objectivity by excluding the personal,
Goethe worked on developing the necessary inner faculties to fine-tune his
ability to inwardly discriminate between subjective and objective thoughts and
feelings. This led to practical discoveries concerning the subtle workings of
things in the fields of botany, anatomy and optics. It was Goethe’s insights
into the nature of light and colour that inspired much of Turner’s painting.
This new method of discovery, which kept the human being at the heart of the
process, was later elaborated and enhanced by Steiner.
The work of Rudolf Steiner led to the development of three different kinds of organisational activity. Firstly a school of spiritual science was established in Switzerland, aptly named the Goetheanum, with research faculties in the arts, medicine, agriculture, mathematics and the social and physical sciences. Secondly a general society was founded for those who agreed with the aims of the school and wanted to work together in a less specific way. This society acquired the rather daunting name of the Anthroposophical Society, but put simply it translates as an approach to understanding both the world of nature and the world of spirit through direct human experience. Central to this society is the notion that individuals should be free in their relationship to knowledge and should not accept things simply because they are revealed by some authority. This attitude sits well today, with our growing distrust of authorities of all kinds.
The Goetheanum in Dornach,
Switzerland, home to the School of Spiritual Science
One key feature of this society is that although it looks
to the school in Dornach as its central focus it is, at its heart, grass roots
led. Anyone can join and there are no particular points of view which have to be
accepted, only a willingness to accept the kind of research approach practiced
by the School. Groups of the general Society are self-organising and tend to
‘cluster’ at a regional and national level, or according to subject
interest.
The third kind of organisation inspired by Steiner are the
practical initiatives. These were the result of various approaches and requests
to use this scientific methodology in particular subject areas. Thus the
Biodynamic Agricultural Movement was begun after concerns were raised by farmers
about declining crop yields and other fertility questions. This led to the
organising of an agricultural course, to look into some of these practical
problems. The Steiner school movement was begun when a local factory owner
wanted to set up a school for the workers children and asked Steiner to help
devise the curriculum. In every case the professionals concerned were encouraged
to carry on their own research and, in this way, new insights have been
developed in a whole range of practical areas including medicine, artistic
therapy, farming, education, architecture, economics, machine technology and
mathematics, to name but a few.
Whilst interlinked by a common approach, all three kinds of organisation - school of spiritual science, general society and the various institutions that take their inspiration from this approach - are all completely independent of each other. The individual must always be left to exercise their own free will at all times and, like the uniqueness of every individual, there is always more than one approach to things. The legacy of Steiner’s spiritual science is there for all.
(this article was first published in the April 2003 edition of Connect Magazine)
Further Information
Anthroposophy is a term coined to describe the approach to knowledge taken by Rudolf Stiener. It essentially translates as 'a path to wisdom (Sophia) through self knowledge' or 'by understanding the essential nature of the human being' (Anthropos). It has come to be associated with those people who feel a connection with Steiner's approach to knowledge and to the general inspiration for various independent practical initiatives such as Steiner, or Waldorf, Education and the Biodynamic farming methods, to name but two. There is also an international Anthroposophical Society, which has as its focus the school of Spiritual Science in Dornach, Switzerland. The Society is very responsive to 'grass root' local initiative and there are many local groups in all nations and on all continents. What constitutes a 'local group' is defined by the individual members themselves.
BASIC BOOKS
LINKS TO ANTHROPOSOPHICAL SITES