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what he saw there.
The
results of Steiner's insights
prompted a large number of
practical initiatives, including
agriculture
(the Biodynamic movement),
education (the Waldorf movement),
curative
education (the Camphill movement)
and an extension to the
art
of medicine.
Steiner's
views and opinions as expressed
in some 40 volumes of written
work and almost 300 volumes
of lecture transcripts have
sparked controversy from
the
outset. During Steiner's lifetime
it was widely considered
that
logic and spirituality were
incompatible. From one side
it was argued that since the
spiritual did not exist,
any
discussion of it was ipso facto
absurd. From another, his
ideas
were considered heretical in
as much as they did not
confirm
the favored ideology of the
moment (be it Theosophical,
Catholic, Communist or Nationalist).
In his lifetime, his efforts
at social reform were opposed
by the extreme right and
the
extreme left, and he was even,
without any factual basis,
denounced
by Hitler as an agent of Jewish
conspiracy. This was not
the
first or the last time he would
be slandered - today he his
denounced by some as a right
wing anti-Semite.
Steiner
needs defending for the
simple
reason that he is not around
to defend himself today.
Whether
you like or dislike his ideas,
intellectual discourse demands
a fair evaluation of them and
not attacks on superficial
mischaracterizations
purporting to represent the
"real" Steiner. Many
of his ideas are "out
there."
They might seem quite strange;
however, with a little effort,
an open mind and basic logic
it is possible to understand
them. At that point you can
choose to agree or disagree,
to believe or disbelieve. However,
I feel that this step of first
understanding before agreeing
or disagreeing is often skipped.
It
is the purpose of this site
to defend Steiner and his ideas
from the many misrepresentations
that are currently circulating.
What those inspired by Steiner's ideas
do
or fail to do in his name is
beyond the scope of this
endeavor,
though I will touch on it where
necessary. Nor is the purpose
here to advance Anthroposophy
in a partisan manner. That
I
am sympathetic to it will no
doubt be evident. However,
I
attempt here only to represent
Steiner's ideas without
value
judgments. Such judgments,
as well as a judgment as
to
whether I am successful or
not, I leave to the reader.
Daniel
Hindes
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