Steiner, Rudolf (redirected from Steiner)

Steiner, Rudolf (r`dôlf shtīn`ər), 1861–1925, German occultist and social philosopher. He was a leader in the founding of the German Theosophic Association (see theosophy). In time he abandoned theosophy and developed a distinctive philosophy which he called anthroposophy; this philosophy attempts to explain the world in terms of man's spiritual nature, or thinking independent of the senses. Translations of his works include Investigations in Occultism (1920) and Philosophy of Spiritual Activity (1922). He also wrote many works on Goethe.

Bibliography

See his autobiography (rev. tr. 1951, repr. 1970).

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Steiner, Rudolf

(born Feb. 27, 1861, Kraljevic, Austria—died March 30, 1925, Dornach, Switz.) Austrian-Swiss social and spiritual philosopher, founder of anthroposophy. He edited the scientific works of Johann W. von Goethe and contributed to the standard edition of Goethe's complete works. During this period he wrote The Philosophy of Freedom (1894). Coming gradually to believe in spiritual perception independent of the senses, he called the result of his research “anthroposophy,” centring on “knowledge produced by the higher self in man.” In 1912 he founded the Anthroposophical Society. In 1913 he built his first Goetheanum, a “school of spiritual science,” in Dornach, Switz. In 1919 he founded a progressive school for workers at the Waldorf Astoria factory, which led to the international Waldorf School movement. Steiner's other writings include The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity (1894), Occult Science (1913), and Story of My Life (1924).