An Outline of Occult Science

by Rudolph Steiner

Overview

For two things present themselves for consideration. First, no human being will, on deeper reflection, be able in the long run to shut his eyes to the fact that his most important questions as to the meaning and significance of life must remain unanswered, if there be no access to higher worlds. Theoretically we may delude ourselves concerning this fact and so get away from it; the depths of our soul-life, however, will not tolerate such self-delusion. The person who will not listen to what comes from these depths of the soul will naturally reject any account of super sensible worlds. There are however people-and their number is not small-who find it impossible to remain deaf to the demands coming from the depths of the soul. They must always be knocking at the gates which, in the opinion of others, bar the way to what is "incomprehensible." Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (25/27 February 1861- 30 March 1925) author of Knowledge of the Higher Worlds continues to study, analyze, and offer explanation for man's existence and purpose in both the physical and spiritual worlds. Cover photography by Paul Spremulli.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781480043893
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	10/05/2012
Pages:	316
Product dimensions:	5.24(w) x 7.99(h) x 0.66(d)

About the Author

Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 (or 25) February 1861[1] - 30 March 1925) was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, economist,[7] esotericist,[8][9] and claimed clairvoyant.[10][11] Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as a literary critic and published philosophical 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; other influences include Goethean science and Rosicrucianism.[12]
In the first, more philosophically oriented phase of this movement, Steiner attempted to find a synthesis between science and spirituality.[13] His philosophical work of these years, which he termed "spiritual science", sought to apply the clarity of thinking characteristic of Western philosophy to spiritual questions,[14]:291 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, the movement arts (developing a new artistic form, eurythmy) and architecture, culminating in the building of the Goetheanum, a cultural centre to house all the arts.[15] In the third phase of his work, beginning after World War I, Steiner worked to establish various practical endeavors, including Waldorf education,[16] biodynamic agriculture,[17] and anthroposophical medicine.