The Three Conditions Which Determine Man's Position
in the World, Towards His Fellow-Men and Towards Spirituality
Dornach 2nd February, 1919.
Yesterday I mentioned the
four principal parts of the present socialistic programme. As you will
remember, these four parts 1) The socialisation of industrial concerns.
2) The production is to be governed by the demand. 3) The conditions
of work and of pay are to be regulated democratically. 4) Profits of
any kind go to the commnity.
Attention has already
been drawn to a few things showing that the currents of feeling and
opinion which called into life this fourfold programme contain certain
facts which are not entirely out/off from the human being, as is the
case with the materialistic conceptien of history and the theory of
an economic struggle among the different social classes, for these aro
conclusions arrived at by the social-democratic mentality. Spiritual
impulses, spiritual potentialities, now influence the development of
things contained above all in the views and aspirations of the proletariat.
It will indeed be fatal if we fail to acquire the required insight into
the strength of the impulses which influence the development of modern
socialistic thinking and of modern socialistic aims. We might say: What
most strikes us in socialistic thought and in socialistic aims is the
absolute lack of confidence in any sort of help or cooperation to b
e gained from man's moral, ethical impulses: when socialists set about
to organise the social structure, they show an absolute distrust in
the power o f ethical impulses. This distrust is a sediment, as it were,
or proletarian thinking and willing; the proletariat simply does not
believe that the ruling classes can in any way contribute moral impulses,
or even spiritual impulses, towards the solution of the social problem.
We should not allow ourselves
to be deceived by such things, particularly not by the phrases which
socialists sometimes use. Particularly when socialists criticize the
mistakes of the ruling classes, they like to condemn their moral shortcomings.
But whenever the socialistic proletariat considers in a fully conscious
way the source of its hopes for the future, it merely says: Even if
the ruling classes were guided by moral impulses when striving to improve
the social conditions of the proletariat, they could not succeed. A
real improvement can only, result from a class struggle, from a struggle
between different economic interests and the economic forces as such.
It is most important to realise this. For even the last remnant of trust
in the moral forces of the ruling classes still extant to-day, will
disappear.
We should bear in mind
that the capitalistic foundation, of which I have spoken to you yesterday,
will gradually lead the so-called intelligentsia, the intellectual loaders
of modern humanity, to an ever growing lack of confidence in the power
of moral or spiritual impulses. This will spread more and more. For
in the depths of their hearts, even the middle classes do not attribute
much importance to the real power of moral impulses. They do, of course,
talk a lot of such moral impulses, but the way in which things manifest
themselves, shows that their words often contain a more or less conscious
untruthfulness. Do not let us forget one of the most fatal facts in
the development of modern humanity, a fact which we have already considered
from various aspects. It may be characterized as follows: On the one
hand, there is a certain confidence inthe science dealing with the external
phenomena of Nature, a science which is, as it were, devoid of morality,
devoid of spirituality. Our contemporaries wish to develolp natartal
science in such a way that there is no connection between the ideas
relating to Nature and those relating to the moral order of the world.
A characteristic fact
is, for instance, the following one: The Roman Catholic Church, some
of whose priests are really very learned men, emphasizes that the scientists
in its ranks should concentrate their attention exclusively upon physical
facts, and that they should in no way attempt to mingle spiritual or
moral things with the so-called causal science dealing with external
phenomena.
Take, on the other hand,
all the books dealing with moral, ethical or spiritual questions, written
by men who are looked upon as authorities. These books undoubtedly contain
many unctious or not unctious, pathetic or not pathetic impulses and
ideals which seek to arouse compassion or abhorrence. But try to form
an opinion by consulting one of these books and asking ourselves: What
can be gained to-day from these modern books on ethics and other spiritual
subjects, in regard to the burning problems of the present, which we
designate as the social questions, the social riddles? — Nothing,
truly nothing, can be gained from such books! That which constitutes
ethical thought has, in a certain way, withdrawn from the impulses which
influence social life in ordinary everyday existence. Again and again
you may find in books on ethical life ideas relating to benevolence,
tolerance, love… love is a very favourite subject and similar
things. But the way in which they are dealt with, do not enable them
to exercise any influence upon human beings. The moral concepts which
are advanced in such an abstract way have no moral force and contain
no moral impulses.
We therefore have, on
the one hand, a rhetoric dallying with,ethical subjeats, so that no
moral impulse can take hold of men. The economic order which thus results,
cannot exercise any ethical influence, but works upon the foundation
of the causality which can be found in Nature, and it aims to bring
into the economic structure of human life nothing but this causality
of Nature. Do you find in the words or writings of modern men, belonging
to the so-called intellectual circles, anything which can influence
humanity in such a way that ethical requirements become at the same
time social-economic requirements? — The most essential point
which should be borne in mind to-day, is that a straight path must lead
from the field of ethics, religion and spirituality, to the most common,
daily questions of economic life, of national-economic and social life.
This path must not be
ignored, if greater misfortune than that of the past years is not to
befall humanity. In regard to such things, the modern proletarian' party,
from the extreme, right to the extreme left, has taken over the inheritanoe
of the capitalistic bourgeoisie, in the way in which it, has,developed
during the past centuries. The characteristic trait of the bourgeoisie
is that it has completely severed man's personal aspirations from the
economic structure of life, from the development of capital, and quite
independenly of any traditional religion or sectarian. movement of modern
times, it cultivates at the same time a soul-life which is entirely
separated from the interests of daily life; the middle classes think
that it is a superior attitude to separate soul-life from the concerns
of daily life, and so they completely lose that survey of life which
is so badly needed to-day.
I have, for instance,
come across members of the Anthroposophical Society, who said: Can we
admit into our Society a man who works in a brewery, for such person
contributes to the fact that people drink beer! — Now I am not
speaking either for or against the drinking of beer, but the point from
which these members set out, was that they were against beer drinking.
In similar cases one can only say: You do not see further than your
own nose, and this “nose-judgment” induces you to see, or
not to see, that person who has a comparatively unimportant situation
in a brewery. But let us consider real facts. You are the owner of shares,
including all kinds of bank shares. Do you realise how much beer you
brew with your shares and bank papers? But this does nut trouble you,
for you do not see further than your own nose!
But, I do not intend to
blame anyone for his opinions; the essential point is to draw attention
to the lack of consistency and insight contained in such a manner of
thinking. The greatest misfortune of our time is that love of ease leads
people into this disconnected, incoherent way of thinking and they remain
in it, because they do not wish to throw a bridge which leads from ethics
religion and spirituality to the other side, constituting real life
in its immediate form — the social and economic dethands, the
social riddles as such, which now face us.
Indeed, many things have
to be learned in this direction. You will remember that I have emphasized
again and again that when we deal with social matters, the most essential
thing to be borne in mind to-day is the spiritual aspect. Education,
schools, spiritual life in general — these are the most important
questions.
If we look more deeply
into things, we may even say: So long as spiritual life continues to
be dependent upon the political community (you already know that in
future the social organism will consist of three communities, or parts),
so long as the spiritual community, or spiritual life, is obliged to
depend upon a merely political.structure which absorbs it, no solution
can be reached and people will continue meddling about with social questions!
Schools must be quite independent, spiritual matters must be dealt wits
quite independently of economic or political life: this is :the essential
point.
There is really not much
time to reflect over those things and to set them right, and very soon
it may be too late. Something can only be achieved if man's innermost
being can still be reached, if the wild instincts which have become
unfettered can still be controlled. But try to preach to-day to those
men whose wild instincts have become unfettered in the social chaos
of the present time — try to preach to them, and you will find
that they will only laugh at you!
It is our earnest endeavour
again and again to appeal to the hearts and souls of men, that they
may listen to that which is so sorely needed. Even as the development
in the direction of capitalism has in the past centuries utterly confused
the activities connected with spiritual interests, and consequently
with the world as such, so the spiritual science of Anthroposophy seeks
to bring light and order into these things.
Let us consider the first
point in the four-fold socialistic ideal: Industrial concerns, production,
is to become common property, communal property. — But the essential
point here, depends above all upon spiritual questions, upon a clear
insight into certain answers to spiritual questions. What can spiritual
science offer to human souls, if it is not only taken as an abstract,
dry theory? Spiritual science can offer human souls three things: —
In the first place, not a mere faith in a divine-spiritual element,
but a conception of it, though it may perhaps only be one transmitted
through thoughts, but it is a conception of the spiritual worlds which is
accessible to sound common sense. Instead of a confused, often pantheistic
and unclear manner of speaking of the spiritual world, the spiritual
science of Anthropesophy transmits a real conception of the spiritual
world, speaks of definite structures of spiritual Beings, of a hierarchical
order within the spiritualal world; it transmits ideas of the spiritual
world which are just as concrete as the ideas relating to the mineral,
vegetable and animal kingdoms of the physical world. In the course of
development during the past centuries, these spiritual ideas were
completely pushed aside. Consider how much importance is attributed
to-day to faith without any concepts. The spiritual science of
Anthroposophy is characterised by the fact that it transmits a conception
of the spiritual world.
A second thing which
spiritual science offers to those who do not only take it as a dry and
lifeless theory but who allow their heart and soul to be touched by it,
a second thing which spiritual science can give is the following: people
really learn to respect and prize the human being, they acquire a
boundless feeling of respect and appreciation of man: if a spiritual
conception of life, as set forth, for instance, in my
Occult Science,
is not only grasped theoretically through the intellect, but with the
whole soul, can it then it lead to anything but a genuine respect and
appreciation of the human being. Consider that the whole cosmos is
contemplated from the standpoint that man has his place within it. After
all, it is man whom we consider, when we speak not only of the evolution
of the Earth, but of the Moon, Sun and Saturn stages of development.
Compare in this respect,
anthroposophical spiritual science with the ordinary natural science of
modern times. The latter leads to hypotheses such as that of Kant-Laplace.
Compared with spiritual science, which goes back to the Moon, Sun and
Saturn stages of development, natural science does not go far back;
it only reaches back to a certain stage of earthly development. Man
has been lost long ago in that philosophical-scientific madness-designated
as the Kant-Laplace theory! He is no longer contained in this theory;
there we have a grey nebula, and this insane theory, which is now looked
upon as science, speaks of this fog, of this nebula.
Against this fact, that
even in the earthly sphere natural science can no longer find the human
being, stands the conception of Spiritual science, which goes in search
of the human being in the whole cosmos. This is possible, even if we
pursue such things with intellectual thoughts, even if we study such
things in a purely theoretical way. But those who do not only study
spiritual science theoretically, but to whom such studies are an earnest
amd deeply human concern, will obtain through such a contemplation of
the world a boundless feeling of respect and of appreciation for the
human being as such.
The modern scientific
conception which turns its attention merely towards physical things,
cannot appreciate the human being as such. Spititual science remains
within reality, and it considers the external physical things as semblance.
For if we remain standing by the external reality, we do not have the
corrective of which spiritual science disposes, by contemplating the
cosmic human being and thus arriving at a feeling of respect for man,
in contrast to the statements concerning man which are sometimes advanced
by the upholders of a physical-sensory conception. This materialistic
conception cannot lead us to respect and appreciate man, for in that
case it would have to deny its own theories. It would have to appreciate
and respect the single empirical human being, the everyday man, that
is to say, the facts which, it known about him… but this would
not do!
In the first place, spiritual
science is therefore the path loading to a spiritual conception, in
contrast to mere faith; it is the path leading to a genuine appreciation
of man, in contrast to that indifference towards man which necessarily
results from a purely materialistic conception.
Then there is a third
thing: In the cosmos there are of course objects and processes which
are outside the human being. How does spiritual science observe these
objects and processes outside man? It observes them all in relation
to man. Spiritual science considers the mineral, vegetable and animal
kingdoms in relation tb man. This enables one to appreciate that which
exists besides, or
one might say, beneath the human being in the physical world outside.
Take a feeling which is a truly spiritual-scientific one, a feeling
which Christian Morgenstern drew out of spiritual science and to which
he gave poetic expression: The human being feels himself at the top
of the physical kingdoms of the earth: Below him is the anjmal kingdom,
then the vegetable kingdom and the mineral kingdom. But if the vegetable
kingdom were able to have feelings and thoughts in regard to the mineral
kingdom, what would it say? “I bow down reverently before thee,
o stone, for to thee I owe my existence. Although thou art below me
in the hierarchical order of Nature, I could not exist without the soil
which thou givest me.” Similarly the animal would have to bow
down reverently before the plant and say: “I owe my existence
to thee". And so on, throughout the higher kingdoms. Each higher
kingdom bows down reverently before the lower kingdom.
Spiritual science thus
renders it possible to consider also the remaining world in relation
to man. It can look upon it in the right relationship to the human being.
Whenever spiritual science can influence spiritual life, it exercises
its influence in three directions: —
1) Through spiritual contemplation;
2) throdgh a Sense of
respect and appreciation for man;
3) through a right appreciation
of everything in the world by considering it in relation to man.
Unless the above-mentioned
three conditions arise, any demand) as for instance the socialisation
of industrial concerns, must remain an empty unsubstantial requirement.
Unless the three above-mentioned conditions arise, which determine man's
position in relation to the world, to his fellow-men. and to spirituality,
no true impulse can penetrate into the social life of men and it will
be impossible to arrange, anything within it.
In the same way it will be
impossible to materialise the second point of the socialistic programme:
That the demand should govern production. Demands, or the
market-requirements, do not constitute anything which can be noted down
statistically, it is nothing stable which can govern other processes. In
real life, the demand continually fluctuates and changes. Can anyone, for
instance, determine the demand for electric railways in 1840? This is a
demand which was conjured up by the cultural process. itself. If production
is to be ruled by some existing demand, if no initiative is to be
left-to-it it will stagnate. A true relationship between production and
demand can only be established if the social organism has a threefold
structure.
In that case, a living cooperation will regulate of its own accord,
as it were, the relation betweea demand and production, and this also
applies to the other impulses within the social organism.
Let us take the third;
point, that conditions of work and pay be settled democratically. Here
it is essential to beqr in mind that a democracy is useless unless it
is based upon true respect of the human being, and this feeling of reverence
for man can only be impressed upon the soul by spiritual science. Democracy
contains the seed of its own decay, if it does not contain at the same
time a genuine feeling of respect and reverence for the human being.
Then the fourth point,
that any excess value should be handed over to the community. My dear
friends, one can say that there one detects the absolutely impossible
way of thinking in such a direction. What is surplus value? In the eyes
of the marxistic proletariat, surplus values, or profits, are something
impossible which must be eliminated. To abolish profits, they wish to
establish a socialistic order. An essential point within such socialistic
order, is the abolition of surplus values, of profits. But one of its
ideals is that these profits should be handed over to the community.
This represents, in fact, one of its ideals. Why? Because surplus values
will be there, and this very fact throws its shadow upon the socialistic
programme. It is the shadow which unquestionably darkens tbe programme.
And this throws its whole darkness upon the whole theory.
Modern humanity thus sways
in a fearful darkness; light can fall upon it only if men overcome their
love of ease, and pass over from faith to a spiritual conception, from
man's purely empirical position in the world to that other position
which calls forth a real feeling of reverence and. respect for the human
being; from a mere devouring of things, etc. to that true appreciation
of the things which exist in the universe in addition to man, which
can only arise if one can place everything in relation to man, through
Anthroposophy.
My dear friends, you can
therefore realise how closely the fate of spiritual-scientific aims
is connected with the social problems of the present time. An earnest
need arises in the souls of those who take spiritual science seriously,
a need even greater than that of spreading spiritual science: it is
that of calling up in the hearts of mon the feeling how necessary it
is, particularly for the most important and justified requirements of
the present, to spread the ideas, feelings and will impulses which can
only arise out of spiritual science. But we shall continuo to speak
of these things.
VERSES BY RUDOLF STEINER
(Discovered among his papers)
Original Text in German
Du selbst, orkennender, fühlender, wollender Mensch,
Du bist das Rätsel der Welt.
Was sie verbirgt,
In dir wird es offenbar, es wird
In deinem Geiste Licht,
In definer Seele Wärme,
Und deines Atoms Kraft
Sie bindet dir die Leibeswesenheit
An Seelenwelten,
An Geistesreiche.
Sie führt dich in den Stoff,
Dass du, dich menschlich findest,
Sie führt dich in den Geist,
Pass du dich geistig nicht verlierest.
(TRANSLATION OF ABOVE)
Thou, o cognising, feeling and, willing man
T hou art the riddle of the world!
What it conceals,
Reveals itself in thee, and becomes
Light in thy spirit,
Warmth in thy soul,
And the power of thy breath
Binds thy bodily being
To soul-worlds
And spirit-realms.
It loads thee into substance,
That thou mightst find thyself
As man,
It leads thee into spirit,
That thou mightst never lose
Thyself as spirit.
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