Founding a Science of the Spirit: Fourteen Lectures Given in Stuttgart Between 22 August and 4 September 1906

Rudolf Steiner

Rudolf Steiner Press, 1999 - Anthroposophy - 155 pages

14 lectures, Stuttgart, August 22 to September 4, 1906 (CW 95)

These lectures offer a fine introduction to the whole of Steiner's teaching. He speaks of the fundamental nature of the human being in relation to the cosmos, the evolution of the Earth, the journey of the soul after death, reincarnation and karma, good and evil, the modern path of meditative training, as well as giving answers to individual questions.

Throughout the text, Steiner emphasizes the scientific exposition of spiritual phenomena. As he says in his final lecture, "The highest knowledge of mundane things is thoroughly compatible with the highest knowledge of spiritual truths."

This volume is a translation from German of Vor dem Tore der Theosophie GA 95). Previous translation: At the Gates of Spiritual Science

Contents

• Lecture Two 23 August 1906: 9
• Lecture Three 24 August 1906: 19
• Lecture Four 25 August 1906: 28
• Lecture Five 26 August 1906: 36
• Lecture Six 27 August 1906: 43
• Lecture Seven 28 August 1906: 55
• Lecture Eight 29 August 1906: 61
• Lecture Nine 30 August 1906: 71
• Lecture Ten 31 August 1906: 82
• Lecture Eleven 1 September 1906: 92
• Lecture Twelve 2 September 1906: 101
• Lecture Thirteen 3 September 1906: 112
• Lecture Fourteen 4 September 1906: 125
• Answers to Audience Questions: 139
• September 1906: 146
• Notes and References: 153

About the author

Rudolf 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. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his early philosophical principles into an approach to systematic research into psychological and spiritual phenomena. Formally beginning his spiritual teaching career under the auspices of the Theosophical Society, Steiner came to use the term Anthroposophy (and spiritual science) for his philosophy, spiritual research, and findings. The influence of Steiner's multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine, various therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf education, education for special needs, threefold economics, biodynamic agriculture, Goethean science, architecture, and the arts of drama, speech, and eurythmy. In 1924, Rudolf Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches throughout the world. He died in Dornach, Switzerland. Matthew Barton is a translator, editor, teacher, and poet, and taught kindergarten for many years at the Bristol Waldorf School. His first collection of poems was Learning To Row (1999). He has won numerous prizes for his work, including an Arts Council Writer's Award and a Hawthornden Fellowship.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Founding a Science of the Spirit: Fourteen Lectures Given in Stuttgart Between 22 August and 4 September 1906
• Author: Rudolf Steiner
• Translated by: Matthew Barton
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press, 1999
• ISBN: 1855840774, 9781855840775
• Length: 155 pages