Philosophy as an Approach to the Spirit

'What was important for Steiner was less the body of his ideas themselves than the transformation they can bring about in the reader by opening the mind to the real nature of the spiritual world. Philosophy, properly regarded, is not the intellectual solution of abstract questions not being asked, but an activity that helps to resolve the questions which arise in the course of life itself. It must therefore itself become organically alive.' (From the Preface.) The object of this study is to outline, as straightforwardly as possible, the whole range of the philosophical work of Dr Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925). These works, far ahead of their time, were not widely recognized, and are virtually unknown to modern philosophers. However, Steiner's later works of spiritual science (anthroposophy) and their practical manifestation in many aspects of life, such as education, agriculture and medicine, are gaining increasing interest. In this context, his philosophy, which lays the basis for everything that followed, needs to be widely understood. Since this philosophy is a description of Steiner's living experiences, the author sets it in the context of a brief biography, selected to show how Steiner's thinking developed.