'Based on the Principles of Rudolf Steiner'
It doesn't really say much does it? Here is a very brief snap shot of the man and a follower. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Click the links to find out more information about any topic. |
It is no great challenge to find reverential, awestruck biographies of Rudolf Steiner; just type the name into pretty much any search engine, then stand back for the avalanche. Less so when it comes to Ita Wegman, especially in English. It is worth noting though that almost all you find will be produced by adherents or affiliates of Anthroposophy, outlining a near mystic partnership of the two from which she found the initiative to found the first Anthroposophical Clinical-Therapeutic Institute (1920) and later, (1922) to co-found the Weleda labs. It may be that, on visiting an Anthro supportive site, you will find some assertion that Steiner was clairvoyant, and this is generally stated quite matter-of-factly, is offered as a given, with little invitation to ask further question(s) on such an assertions. Let's take a look at non-Anthro take on Steiner: again reproduced here with the permission of Dialogue Ireland. "Anthony Storr in his book, Feet of Clay, concludes with following comments, Steiner was undoubtedly a man of high ideals and high intelligence who inspired other people and who certainly did far more good than harm. Yet his so-called 'thinking', his supposed power of supersensible perception, led to a vision of the world, the universe, and of cosmic history which is entirely unsupported by any evidence, which is at odds with practically everything which modern physics and astronomy have revealed, and which is more like science fiction than anything else. The claims he made for himself are astonishing. He had complete confidence that his own subjective powers of 'spiritual perception' revealed the truth about the universe in ways beyond the reach of orthodox science, and that the discoveries which he made in this way could be applied to every department of life, from medicine and agriculture to the education of both normal and handicapped children. This mild, gentle, good, kindly man had, at some level of his personality, an unshakeable conviction that he 'knew'. It was this utter certainty, so characteristic of gurus, which brought him followers, and made it possible for his disciples to believe in his spiritual science and embrace his teaching as a philosophy of life. Steiner's belief system is both idiosyncratic and incredible; but what he achieved in humanitarian terms is remarkable and enduring." http://dialogueireland/dicontent/a2z/anthroposophy/ (website link no longer valid) One can probably take it that supporters of Anthroposophy will focus on the first and last sentences here. Those of us with experience of Anthroposophy, but without being sold on it, would urge people to think about the bits in between. You, of course, can weigh all this up, acting as you see fit.
Published 18/09/06 |
||||||||||||||||||||