Karl König’s Path into Anthroposophy

Karl König’s Path into Anthroposophy: Reflections from his Diaries

“I told him about my affinity for people with special needs and my question as to whether working with them could be my vocation. He invited me to work in the Camphill movement and recommended that I study Kaspar Hauser’s life and Rudolf Steiner’s writings about the Fifth Gospel.” —Erhard Fucke

This book follows Karl König’s spiritual journey from his early years to the end of his life. Through the words of his diaries, in which his battles with health and his impatient temperament are recorded with merciless honesty, we can follow his inner path that led to profound insights into the nature of children with special needs. His personal struggles and innate spirituality laid the foundation for his work in the Camphill Schools and Villages.

Includes facsimile reproductions of some of König’s original diary pages.

About the Karl König Archive: Karl König, the founder of Camphill, was a prolific lecturer and writer on a wide range of subjects from anthroposophy and Christology through social questions and curative education to science and history.

The Karl König Archive are working on a program of publishing these works over the coming years.

C O N T E N T S:

Introduction by Peter Selg

1. The Struggle for Existence
2. The Inner Path
3. Spiritual Work
4. The Spirituality of Camphill
5. Knowing and Supporting the Children

Translation of Diary Facsimiles

Notes
Bibliography
Index

About the Author

Peter Selg studied medicine in Witten-Herdecke, Zurich, and Berlin and, until 2000, worked as the head physician of the juvenile psychiatry department of Herdecke Hospital in Germany. Dr. Selg is director of the Ita Wegman Institute for Basic Research into Anthroposophy (Arlesheim, Switzerland), professor of medicine at the Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences (Germany), and co-leader of the General Anthroposophical Section at the Goetheanum. He is the author of numerous books on Rudolf Steiner, anthroposophy, medical ethics, and the development of culture and consciousness.