The light of the sun brightens all space when dark night is passed
The life of the soul now is awakened from restful sleep.
O thou my soul, give thanks to the light!
In it shines forth a power divine.
O thou my soul, be strong for deeds.
- Rudolf Steiner
The word is from anthropos, “human being,†and sophia, “wisdom†and so literally means “the wisdom of the human being.†It is the name given by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) for the philosophy based on his spiritual scientific research, the philosophy that underlies Waldorf education, biodynamic gardening, anthroposophical medicine and architecture and many other areas of life that were greatly influenced by Steiner’s work. He was a scholar of both the humanities and sciences; he was also an educator, architect, philosopher, artist, the leading scholar of Goethe, and a prolific writer with some 360 volumes of writings, books and lectures to his credit. As a born clairvoyant, he was also a person of enormous spiritual gifts. And, as one biographer noted, “he swam unapologetically against the stream, affirming the primacy of the spirit against the ruling dogma of materialism.†For more information about Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy please check out the following links: Why Waldorf Works and Anthroposophical Society in America.
Anthroposophy is a path to knowledge, knowledge of ourselves as well as knowledge of the world, the cosmos, and our relationship to the world and cosmos. It comprises a profound vision of what it means to be human and Steiner put forth that through the power of thinking we can now have access to the spiritual world such as previously belonged only to mystics and clairvoyant, and that this direct knowledge is the true foundation for moral freedom.
