The Essence of Christianity

GA 68a — 20 April 1903, Weimar

3. Theosophy and the Scientific Spirit of the Present

I. Report in the “Weimarische Zeitung” of April 22, 1903

Third lecture by Dr. Rudolf Steiner – Berlin on “Theosophy and the scientific spirit of the present day”. Following on from the two lectures already given, the lecturer undertook to sketch out a comparative and concordant picture of theosophy and natural science for the numerous listeners who had again turned up, and the following is reproduced from this topic:

In my previous lectures I have already tried to show that the great mystery surrounding us is nothing more than the lawfulness, the logical consequence of all research that has been and is being undertaken to fathom the mystery. In the near future, research in the natural sciences will have reached the point where theosophy begins, thus ensuring a future for it as its representatives strive for. The longing for enlightenment of the highest riddles on the one hand and the discouragement, the doubts regarding the highest questions on the other are still facing each other undefeated. But the struggle will make it necessary even for the most brilliant minds of the present day to press on to the points which Theosophy regards as its fundamental questions. Not only a scholar, in his book on the origin of man, shows by means of research how the physical man came into being, how the first imperfect creatures were formed from carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen. In the tenth stage, he shows how the original fish formed from the aforementioned primeval substances, which possessed an indication or hint of a backbone but no complete nervous system. He further shows how the brain, teeth and limbs developed in these primitive animals, albeit only to an imperfect and informal degree. In the further stages, we find how these primitive animals, otherwise living only in the water, become accustomed to life on land and the limbs necessary for this develop. The animals become more perfect and, after a long transformation, come into the world as kangaroos and later as monkeys, the animal most similar to humans in physical terms. In the 21st link of the development, we see the great ape, from which the 22nd link is the human being itself. But in the chain of investigations, one forgets to add the soul, the spiritual power of the human being, as the 23rd link, because it is in the biography, in the individuality of our ego, that which elevates us above all other living beings. With the 22nd link, the species may well come to an end, but now our soul life begins, the development of which we can observe in exactly the same way as physical development, if we go from stage to stage. The course of science shows in the 1860s (Haeckel) that Western natural science is nothing more than elementary theosophy, and we may assume that this elementary theosophy will develop into a higher one over time. When the greatest naturalists seek to draw the consequences, they find in them the theosophy.

[Huxley], the most important anatomist, who rendered the greatest service to the doctrine of Darwinism, says in his last great manifestation that it cannot be just nature in the degrees of development up to the most complicated human brain, but that one must ascend to a higher intelligence, which stands exalted above the most perfect living being. In 1866, Haeckel pointed out the biogenetic law, which states that every animal species undergoes the entire new development again during germ development. And just as the animal acquired the possessing properties through its perpetual development, so man also received the organs that now adorn him from what his ancestors acquired and what he acquired himself. This is the law of karma in the physical realm. Only in this way did the perfect living beings come into being, because they have an unconscious memory that connects them to their ancestors. And in the sense of Ostwald: Matter does not exist, as was also stated in 1895 at the Lübeck Natural Science Assembly. Matter is perpetual activity. From physics and chemistry we enter the spiritual world and the natural scientist is forced, in order to continue his research, to borrow from the spiritual realm. Goethe also characterizes this spiritual essence of our ego in his well-known saying: “When I have been restlessly active in all of life and developed to full activity, the power of nature cannot possibly dissolve me into the vile elements, but must seek a new place for further activity.” Bunge teaches that the basis of all theosophical knowledge is to be found in self-observation: If you want to know the activity, you must not only look at the outside world. That our living soul life cannot have developed from dead matter is also taught by [Darwin] and Preyer, who consider it impossible for something alive to develop from the dead. - And to recognize the divine unity, to thankfully profess that “God cannot do the slightest thing without me” is to reach the first stage in the belief that we individual human beings are members of the body of God.

After a short break in his remarks, the lecturer dealt with a few written questions, and also answered a personal question. His remarks were met with general applause.

II. Report in “Germany,” First Page, April 23, 1903

The third and final lecture by Dr. Steiner, Berlin, held on Monday evening at 8 p.m., was about theosophy and the scientific spirit of the present day. The speaker began with a brief reference to the two lectures he had given previously and explained that the main tenet of the theosophical doctrine is, above all, self-knowledge. Today, he said, we would explore the extent to which the spirit of contemporary science was suited to absorbing the teachings of Theosophy. He said that once the leading minds of science in our time had embraced the Theosophical knowledge, we could be sure that Theosophy had a future and would indeed conquer the world. We are dealing here with a Janus face, on the one hand a yearning of the minds for a magnificent new world view, on the other hand a discouragement and despondency to penetrate the deep wisdom of karma. It is the spirit of the present that must first be penetrated in order to characterize the position of modern science in relation to the theosophical teaching. A large part of modern science is virtually pushing towards the theosophical science. The speaker pointed out the significant lecture by the Leipzig chemist Ostwald, which was held at the naturalists' congress in Lübeck. Dr. Steiner explained that this lecture would have been impossible about 10 years ago, because Ostwald took the view that there is no matter at all, only activities. Using drastic examples, Ostwald explained how he justified this point of view. For example, Ostwald said: “When we are struck with a stick, it is not matter that strikes us, but the activity that moves the stick and inflicts the blow.” Here, the law of karma is emphasized again, and the human spirit is also formed by this activity in the course of a long period of development. Exactly the same developments that the physical body of man has undergone over a long period of time, exactly the same further developments the human spirit undergoes. It is a perfect process that takes place from personality to personality. It must be emphasized again and again that the spiritual development corresponds exactly to the physical development. Ernst Haeckel was the first to present this science in a rather radical way in the 1860s. It is clear that Theosophy also has to develop to a higher level, and if all signs are not deceptive, this circumstance will soon occur. It is well known that natural science is in a state of continuous change, and already today a great deal of theosophical thinking can be found among natural scientists. Ernst Haeckel, in particular, is one of the leading minds who are pushing hard towards the theosophical movement, even if he himself might not want to admit it. Other leading minds also admit the circumstance that runs like a red thread through all living beings, and which we call the causal body. Another researcher says, “All my organs I have acquired in the course of long development, always from my ancestors. Today my physical organs remember everything that has been acquired over time.” This, Dr. Steiner continued, is not said by a theosophist, but by a radical naturalist. Just as natural scientists are always surprising humanity with new scientific problems for which there is just as little clear evidence, so it cannot be prevented that the spiritual world of humanity is penetrated from another side. Just as Ostwald established the principle “not matter but activity”, it can be claimed that only materialism can assume that spirit lies buried in matter. This is the level from which Goethe also arrived at his spiritual world view. Goethe expressed his view of the destiny of the human spirit in the following sentence: “If I have been restlessly active throughout my life, nature has the obligation not to dissolve me into the base elements, but to assign me a new arena for my activity!” The researcher Bunge also cites a number of examples to show that only activity has caused the further development of the human soul. However, for all those who want to understand human life, deep self-observation is essential. From this arises the realization that everything that happens around us in the universe is activity (karma) and not matter. Of course, the actual activity cannot be seen either, but only the result of it. Thus one arrives at the main tenet of Theosophy, which can be summarized in a single word: self-observation. We have explored the fact that we have a causal body that continues to propagate itself. But we are not a single special being in the universe, but a link in the whole cosmos. The three parts of the human individuality are called Manas, Budhi and Atma in the wisdom of the East, and in these three words they summarize the levels of intellect. If a modern scholar such as Professor Baumann of Göttingen, Germany, speaks of what Theosophy calls reincarnation, then it can be seen that modern science is leading everywhere to the main tenets of Theosophy. However, in order for this high science to become clear to every thinking person, a continued self-knowledge must work in man, the spirit must itself feel and notice that individuality is properly evaluated in the theosophical teaching. When this principle of self-knowledge is established, a saying of Goethe comes to our aid: “If the eye were not sun-like, the sun could not behold it; if there were not in us the power of God, how could we be delighted by the divine?” It is the task of the Theosophical Society to instill this very truth into Western culture. In the future, the same will also be actively developed in Germany, and specifically here in Weimar, a “Theosophical Society” has been founded in which everyone who has absorbed even a spark of theosophical wisdom can continue to work on their further development in a spiritual sense. Finally, Dr. Steiner pointed out that he would be happy to answer any questions that may be put to him, and that some questions had already been received. One question, which had appeared in the Weimarer Zeitung, was as follows: “Can't the spirit of Goethe, just for a change, enter a female individual?” Dr. Steiner, who described this question as very facetious and naive, explained that this could very well be the case, but of course one could not say in which time period Goethe's spirit took possession of another body. Nevertheless, this time could be about 38 generations in the past. Another question dealt with whether a soul community could not also exist between a highly developed animal, such as a dog, and a human being; a noble dog has intellect, loyalty, a sense of shame, even imagination, all of which are qualities that cannot be observed in “lower human races”, as Dr. Steiner himself noted in the previous lectures. In response to this, Dr. Steiner explained that there is a great difference between the abilities of the dog's soul and the human soul. In the animal, there is no biography of the individual, but only a concept of the race. Above all, however, animals lack the ability to count, which every human being possesses. This is probably the most significant difference between human and animal souls. Another question, whether Theosophy was a science or a religion, was answered by the lecturer to the effect that in Theosophy, science, religion, philosophy and ethics were combined into a whole. An objection to this answer, that religion and science should not be mixed up, otherwise one would lose one's footing, was rejected by Dr. Steiner when he explained that the theosophist must indeed disregard this outdated view, as had already been explained in the previous lectures. With enthusiasm and gripping rhetoric, the speaker once again advocated his Theosophical teachings, pointing out that the first point of the Theosophical principles is to form a brotherly spiritual community that extends to all of humanity, regardless of race, religion, class, nationality or gender. — The lecture was met with enthusiastic applause.