In volume 4, Peter Selg continues his thorough and careful exploration into Rudolf Steiner's life and work, focusing on the period of 1914 to 1918 and World War I. Steiner experienced the assassination in Sarajevo as a deeply serious tragedy that would inevitably lead to war and lamented the widespread reluctance to regard such critical events with the appropriate earnestness and concern.

Steiner saw the dark time of World War I as largely the result of mounting economic tensions between England and Germany, marked by unsustainably materialistic and nationalistic thinking. In his view,...

In volume 4, Peter Selg continues his thorough and careful exploration into Rudolf Steiner's life and work, focusing on the period of 1914 to 1918 and World War I. Steiner experienced the assassination in Sarajevo as a deeply serious tragedy that would inevitably lead to war and lamented the widespread reluctance to regard such critical events with the appropriate earnestness and concern.

Steiner saw the dark time of World War I as largely the result of mounting economic tensions between England and Germany, marked by unsustainably materialistic and nationalistic thinking. In his view,...

This third volume of Peter Selg's comprehensive presentation of Rudolf Steiner's life and work begins with Steiner's invitation to lecture in the Theosophical Society during the summer of 1900. From the outset of his theosophical involvement, Steiner was resolved to serve and develop the Western path to the spirit, traversed in full, conscious clarity of thought. He was therefore critical of the tendency to avoid the modern standards of a sound knowledge process in matters of spirituality and esotericism, and instead emphasized the importance of idealist philosophy as groundwork for...

"This biography does not aim for completeness, but focuses on Rudolf Steiner's being, intentions, and journey--aspects that must not be obliterated by the many events, foundations, and people involved with Anthroposophy.... It wants to convey (to quote Emil Leinhas) 'the immense greatness and unique significance of this individuality who radiates out over the centuries.'" --Peter Selg (from the introduction)

To acknowledge and understand Rudolf Steiner's unique achievement and life's work, one must be able to accept that the founder and spiritual researcher of Anthroposophy was "a...

"This biography does not aim for completeness, but focuses on Rudolf Steiner's being, intentions, and journey--aspects that must not be obliterated by the many events, foundations, and people involved with Anthroposophy.... It wants to convey (to quote Emil Leinhas) 'the immense greatness and unique significance of this individuality who radiates out over the centuries.'" --Peter Selg (from the introduction)

To acknowledge and understand Rudolf Steiner's unique achievement and life's work, one must be able to accept that the founder and spiritual researcher of Anthroposophy was "a...

"It makes no sense to stop where Goethe stood. Yet we cannot progress unless we absorb Goethe deeply and allow ourselves to be wholly inspired by the impulses he brought into the world. This cannot be achieved as quickly as people today would like this to happen. There is nothing for it; anyone who was careless enough to live at the end of the nineteenth century must bear it."

--Rudolf Steiner, July 18, 1891

The first chapter of this volume looks at Rudolf Steiner's years in Weimar, beginning with his work at the Goethe Archives editing Goethe's scientific works. It was in...

"It makes no sense to stop where Goethe stood. Yet we cannot progress unless we absorb Goethe deeply and allow ourselves to be wholly inspired by the impulses he brought into the world. This cannot be achieved as quickly as people today would like this to happen. There is nothing for it; anyone who was careless enough to live at the end of the nineteenth century must bear it."

--Rudolf Steiner, July 18, 1891

The first chapter of this volume looks at Rudolf Steiner's years in Weimar, beginning with his work at the Goethe Archives editing Goethe's scientific works. It was in...

This third volume of Peter Selg's comprehensive presentation of Rudolf Steiner's life and work begins with Steiner's invitation to lecture in the Theosophical Society during the summer of 1900. From the outset of his theosophical involvement, Steiner was resolved to serve and develop the Western path to the spirit, traversed in full, conscious clarity of thought. He was therefore critical of the tendency to avoid the modern standards of a sound knowledge process in matters of spirituality and esotericism, and instead emphasized the importance of idealist philosophy as groundwork for...