Self-consciousness

Self-consciousness: The Spiritual Human Being

8 lectures, Oslo, November 25 – December 2, 1921 (CW 79)

The lectures in this book remain valid today for a world situation ever more desperate and in need of change based on spiritual–scientific knowledge. The need for developing “consciousness of the self as the spiritual essence of the free, individualistic, single-personality human being” is one of Steiner’s unique contributions to the evolving history of humankind. This book marks a real milestone on that path.

Self-consciousness is a translation from German of Die Wirklichkeit der höhren Welten (GA 79).

C O N T E N T S:

Introduction by Bernard J. Garber

The Realities of Higher Worlds
Paths Leading to a Knowledge of Higher Worlds
The Foundations of Spiritual Science
Man in the Light of Spiritual Science
World-development in the Light of Spiritual Science
Jesus or Christ
The Necessity for a Renewal of Culture
The Relationship of Man with the cosmos
The Soul Life of Man in Relation to Higher Worlds
the Development of Christian Life in Europe: The Mission of the Scandinavian Peoples

About the Author

Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up (see right). As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe’s scientific writings. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his early philosophical principles into an approach to systematic research into psychological and spiritual phenomena. Formally beginning his spiritual teaching career under the auspices of the Theosophical Society, Steiner came to use the term Anthroposophy (and spiritual science) for his philosophy, spiritual research, and findings. The influence of Steiner’s multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine, various therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf education, education for special needs, threefold economics, biodynamic agriculture, Goethean science, architecture, and the arts of drama, speech, and eurythmy. In 1924, Rudolf Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches throughout the world. He died in Dornach, Switzerland.