The School of Spiritual Science

The School of Spiritual Science: An Orientation and Introduction

In 1924, Rudolf Steiner established the School of Spiritual Science within the framework of the newly reestablished Anthroposophical Society. This book represents a beginning attempt at describing the nature, intent, and methods of this pioneering school and its place in modern culture. It describes the school’s three prerequisites for membership and studies its connection with the Anthroposophical Society and the anthroposophic movement. It also examines the role of its “First Class” in relation to Rudolf Steiner’s original intentions and the responsibilities of its representatives.

The bulk of the book involves descriptions of the various sections in the School of Spiritual Science, contributed by those who are currently their leaders. These descriptions indicate how the school connects with daily work in various areas of life, in keeping with an esotericism based on the idea that “life and its depths can be confronted in the most energetic way.”

Also featured is practical information, including a description of the process for becoming a member and an appendix containing significant statements by Rudolf Steiner. In keeping with the transparency that Steiner requested from the outset, this book is suitable for anyone interested in the School of Spiritual Science.

C O N T E N T S:

Preface

1. The Character of the School of Spiritual Science
   Heinz Zimmermann
2. The School of Spiritual Science and the Anthroposophical Movement, Bodo von Plato
3. The First Class of the School of Spiritual Science, Johannes Kühl, Sergei O. Prokofieff, Virginia Sease
4. The Sections of the School of Spiritual Science, various authors
5. The Esoteric Constitution of the School of Spiritual Science, Michaela Glöckler
6. Membership—Study—Contact, Robin Schmidt

Appendices:

• The School of Spiritual Science within the Constitution of the Anthroposophical Society (lecture by Rudolf Steiner, Jan. 30, 1924)
• The School of Spiritual Science (from the “Newsletter”)
• Concerning the Publication of the Content of the First Class of the School of Spiritual Science

About the Author

Johannes Kühl, physicist and leader of the Science Section at the Goetheanum, was born in 1953 in Hamburg, Germany. He studied physics in Hamburg and Göttingen, finishing with research in fluid dynamics at the Max Plank Institute. After a year of research at the Science Section at the Goetheanum, he taught physics, chemistry and mathematics at the original Waldorf School in Stuttgart Uhlandshöhe. Since 1996, he has been the leader of the Science Section at the Goetheanum and a member of the collegium for the School of Spiritual Science. Since high school, core areas of interest for him have been modern physics and optics, as well as Goethean science. He has given numerous lectures and seminars on these themes and finally put some of his thoughts into his book, Rainbows, Halos, Dawn and Dusk.

Bodo von Plato worked with severely disabled adults and studied history, philosophy, and Waldorf education in Germany, Austria, and France. He was an upper school teacher at the Libre École Rudolf Steiner in Verrières-le-Buisson, close to Paris and helped initiate a sociocultural project in Angers, West of France. In 1989 he developed and directed the Forschungsstelle Kulturimpuls (cultural impulse research center) at the Friedrich von Hardenberg Institute for Cultural Studies in Heidelberg. Mr. von Plato is currently a member of the Executive Council of the General Anthroposophical Society at the Goetheanum. He is married with three children.

Heinz Zimmermann was born in Basel, where he attended the Rudolf Steiner School. He received a doctorate at the University of Basel and taught there and, later, at the Rudolf Steiner School in Basel. He helped lead the teacher-training seminar in Dornach and was appointed to the Executive Council of the General Anthroposophical Society in 1988. He currently leads a foundation studies course there.

Virginia Sease was born in Pennsylvania and earned her doctorate in German from the University of Southern California. She taught in a university and a waldorf school in Los Angeles and has been a member of the Executive Council of the Goetheanum since 1984. She directs the English language Anthroposophical Studies Program at the Goetheanum.

Cornelius Pietzner attended a Waldorf school and later helped found Camphill Soltane, serving also as President of the Camphill Association of North America. He was on the Council of the Anthroposophical Society in America and currently serves as Treasurer and Executive Council member of the General Anthroposophical Society in Dornach.