Agriculture: Spiritual-Scientific Foundations for Agricultural Renewal (Cw 327) Volume 327

by Rudolf Steiner, Ueli Hurter (Introduction), Simon Blaxland-de Lange (Translator)

Overview

8 lectures and 4 Q&A sessions, Kobierzyce, Poland, June 7-20, 1924 (CW 327)

A century after Rudolf Steiner's lectures on agriculture in 1924, the effects of his words are self-evident--around the world, biodynamic principles are practiced on thousands of thriving farms, vineyards, and gardens, and Demeter certification for biodynamic produce is recognized internationally as a mark of health and quality.

Speaking to a small audience of farmers in the small village of Kobierzyce, Poland, Steiner launched the first organic agricultural movement. Nevertheless, what has come to be known today as "biodynamics" is distinguished by a number of unique aspects, including the use of herbal and mineral preparations ("dynamizing" applications for compost and field sprays) and the concept of farms and gardens as a individual living organisms that incorporate animals, crops, soil, and community.

This definitive centenary edition of Steiner's influential agriculture course has been reedited from primary sources to be as faithful as possible to his original meaning and intention. Shorthand reports have been newly transcribed, archival discoveries added, and fresh commentary and notes inserted.

In addition to the original eight lectures and four discussions, this volume features a wealth of new texts, including notes, addresses, and resolutions related to the Experimental Circle (contemporaneously established to join research with practice), comprehensive facsimiles of Steiner's preparatory notes for the course; original programs and lists of attendee; questions sent in advance; Steiner's written and verbal reports, including his address to young people; photos of Kobierzyce; and high-quality color plates of his original blackboard drawings.

This book is a translation from German of Geisteswissenschaftliche Grundlagen zum Gedeihen der Landwirtschaft. Landwirtschaftlicher Kursus (GA 327).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781855846661
Publisher:	Rudolf Steiner Press
Publication date:	01/21/2025
Series:	Collected Works of Rudolf Steiner , #327
Pages:	494
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

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.

Ueli Hurter has been the co-head of the Agriculture Section at the Goetheanum (with Jean-Michel Florin) since 2010 and currently sits on the executive board International Biodynamic Association. A native of Switzerland, he completed agricultural apprenticeships in Switzerland, Germany, and France. He has been involved with the Agriculture Section since 1994 and has formerly served as President of the Swiss Demeter association and as Swiss spokesman to Demeter International. Alongside his work as leader of the Section for Agriculture, he is co-manager of the enterprise Ferme de L'Aubier, a Demeter certified farm with mixed culture and an on-farm cheese dairy, bio-hotel, bio-restaurant, café-hotel, and eco-living quarters. L'Aubier is an associatively organized corporation with direct financing. Additionally, he is the co-founder of the initiative "Sowing the future." Hurter lives near Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and is married with three children.

Simon Blaxland de Lange has for many years worked as an educator for people with special needs. He is also a prolific writer and translator and an amateur musician and gardener. Blaxland de Lange helped establish Pericles Translations and Research, Pericles Training and Work (for adults with special needs), and the Pericles Theatre Company. Together with Dr Vivian Law, he cofounded the Humanities Research Group in 1997 and the British group of the Humanities Section of the School of Spiritual Science in 1998. He met Owen Barfield in 1979, and has been a student of his work for the past thirty years.