Rudolf Steiner’s Thought as "Philosophic Mysticism" and the Question of the Continuity between His Early and Later Writings
This article joins the debate regarding the issue of continuity in the worldview of Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), known as the founder of anthroposophy. It presents the early Steiner’s philosophy, especially in The Philosophy of Freedom (written before Steiner became a theosophist/anthroposophist), as...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Correspondences: journal for the study of esotericism
2023
|
| In: |
Correspondences
Year: 2023, Volume: 11, Issue: 2, Pages: 209–251 |
| Further subjects: | B
philosophic mysticism
B Anthroposophy B Theosophy B Esotericism B Nietzsche B Mysticism B Goethe B Occultism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This article joins the debate regarding the issue of continuity in the worldview of Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), known as the founder of anthroposophy. It presents the early Steiner’s philosophy, especially in The Philosophy of Freedom (written before Steiner became a theosophist/anthroposophist), as belonging to what scholars refer to as "philosophic mysticism." Herein, mystical experience is achieved through philosophical thought, the possibility and features of that mystical experience being justified on philosophical grounds, and mystical experience itself and its contents are linked to thought/thinking/"idea." The early Steiner drew on his idealistic interpretation of Goethe’s inquiries in nature and Goethe’s claim that he perceived the "idea" in nature, and Nietzsche’s individualism and ideals of authenticity, and human beings as the source of ethics; both thinkers serving him as sources of inspiration for his distinctive philosophical fusion of idealism and individualism on an experimental mystical plane. Steiner’s early philosophic mysticism carried through into his later thought (Steiner the occultist, theosophist, and anthroposophist), forming the conceptual foundation for all his spiritual experiences and inquiries and their objective verifiability (anthroposophical Spiritual Science). |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2053-7158 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Correspondences
|