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The Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner
Series
188
Read Description
Goetheanism
An Impulse of Transformation and Resurrection (CW 188)
Paperback
February 2025
9781855846678
More details
- Publisher
Rudolf Steiner Press - ISBN 9781855846678
- Language English
- Pages 280 pp.
- Size 6" x 9.25"
$35.00
12 lectures to Society members, Dornach, Switzerland, Jan. 3 – Feb. 2, 1919 (CW 188)
“There will be a resurrection—a resurrection that should not be imagined politically...but it will be a resurrection. Goetheanism still rests in the grave as far as external culture is concerned. But Goetheanism must rise again.” — Rudolf Steiner
During the first winter following World War I, Rudolf Steiner appealed to the spirit of Central Europe—characterized here as “Goetheanism”—which had languished for decades. Only such a spiritual force could resolve the pressing social, national, and international issues of that time. A new constellation of polarized hostile opposition emerged following the war, with the East and Bolshevism on one side and the victorious West and Americanism on the other. In the center—with no clear role or hope for the future—was a defeated Central Europe. But this “center” must not become a vacuum, implored Steiner; rather, it needs to discover its true world-historical task.
In this context, Steiner speaks with deep seriousness and urgency about the work of Goetheanism, which begins with understanding the threefold organization of human beings and leads to the threefold social structure. Steiner also discusses the key role of the consciousness soul in the present epoch and how Schiller’s Aesthetic Letters and Goethe’s fairytale (The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily) are linked to contemporary challenges. Moreover, he discusses a multitude of seemingly diverse but interrelated themes, such as the migration of peoples in the past and present, the thinking of John of the Cross, and the modern path of spirit cognition.
This first English publication of these historic lectures features an introduction by Christian von Arnim.
This volume is a translation from German of Der Goethanismus, ein Umwandlungsimpuls und Auferstehungsgedanke: Menschenwissenschaft und Sozialwissenschaft (GA 188).
C O N T E N T S:
Introduction by Christian von Arnim
1. The Response of Spiritual Science to the Most Important Questions of the Time
2. The Place of the Human Being in the Age of the Consciousness Soul
3. The Decisive Aspect of the Present Epoch
4. The Relationship between the Soul-Spiritual and the Bodily-Physical
5. The Infusion with the Spirit of Modern History
6. Goetheanism as a Mood of Expectation
7. The Nineteenth Century—Turning Point in the Development of Humanity
8. The Relationship between the Science of the Human Being and Social Science
9. The Migration of Peoples of the Past and Present—the Social Homunculus
10. What Form Can Social Demands Take in the Present?
11. Detachment of the Economic Process from the Personal
12. Three Preconditions in the Human Being’s Position toward the World, Other Humans, and toward Spirituality
Rudolf Steiner’s Collected Works
Significant Events in the Life of Rudolf Steiner
Index
Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Steiner (b. Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner, 1861–1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe’s scientific writings. Steiner termed his spiritual philosophy anthroposophy, meaning “wisdom of the human being.” As an exceptionally developed seer, he based his work on direct knowledge and perception of spiritual dimensions. He initiated a modern, universal “spiritual science” that is accessible to anyone willing to exercise clear and unbiased thinking. From his spiritual investigations, Steiner provided suggestions for the renewal of numerous activities, including education (general and for special needs), agriculture, medicine, economics, architecture, science, philosophy, Christianity, and the arts. There are currently thousands of schools, clinics, farms, and initiatives in other fields that involve practical work based on the principles Steiner developed. His many published works feature his research into the spiritual nature of human beings, the evolution of the world and humanity, and methods for personal development. He wrote some thirty books and delivered more than six thousand lectures throughout much of Europe. In 1924, Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches around the world.
