{"corpus":"steiner","locus":"GA 324/1921-03-16/p038","lang":"en","edition":"English","edition_basis":null,"is_original":false,"is_default_edition":true,"text":"This, my dear friends, is what I wanted to say today as an introduction to this course of lectures. I wanted to show you that this anthroposophical spiritual science knows where its place is in the whole system of sciences. It is not born out of some kind of subjective caprice, some kind of dilettantism; it is born out of an exact theory of knowledge. It is born out of the knowledge that must be used even to understand the correct use of mathematics. It was not for nothing that Plato demanded of his pupils that they must first of all have a good grounding in the knowledge of geometry and mathematics. Plato did not require an arithmetical or geometric knowledge of some particular kind, but rather a sound understanding of what really happens in a man when he does mathematics or geometry. This is based an a seemingly paradoxical but deeply meaningful saying of Plato: “God geometrizes.” He did not mean by this that God just created with mathematics, or with five- or six-sided figures; rather, He creates with the force of which we can only make pictures to ourselves, in our mathematical abstract thinking. Therefore I believe that he who understands the place of mathematics in the whole field of the sciences, will also understand the correct place of spiritual science. Spiritual science will battle for its right to exist, no matter what adversaries it may have, for it builds on an exact foundation thoroughly in accord with historical necessity. Therefore I can say: We welcome any and all opponents who will seriously enter into what spiritual science has to say; we welcome any serious dialogue. Spiritual science has no fear of opposition because it is well supplied with all the scientific weapons of ordinary science and it knows how to use them. It would only not like to be continuously interrupted by those who don't understand it, due to their dilettantism and uninformed opinions. Spiritual science as we mean it here is actually a necessity for the other special sciences. The borders of these other special sciences must be crossed over with the help of spiritual science. We must inwardly resolve at least to confront those who, without reason, oppose this spiritual science, and sometimes even be a bit rude with them. There is a fundamental need for humanity to adopt this spiritual science as quickly as possible, and in all seriousness. This can really happen if only we bring good will to the understanding of it.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"title":"Lecture I","site_heading":"Mathematical Knowledge and the Path to Spiritual Science","site_heading_note":"A heading the site wrote for this unit from a summary of it; not in the edition, and not the words of Rudolf Steiner or of the translator. Cite the unit by its title and locus, never by this heading, and do not quote it.","date":"1921-03-16","location":null,"word_count":420,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/en/ga/324/1921-03-16/p038","alignment_confidence":"low","alignment_reason":"count_diverges","two_voice_volume":false,"translation_credit":{"scope":"unit","status":"established","translator":"Walter Stuber and Mark Gardner","identified_edition":"MP1991","book_title":"Anthroposophy and Science","publisher":"Mercury Press","publisher_inferred":true,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA324/English/MP1991/19210316p01.html","evidence":"lecture_list_row","publisher_note":"The publisher is inferred from the edition code in this lecture's source URL, not stated by the source page. 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Er wollte damit nicht arithmetische oder geometrische Einzelerkenntnisse bei den Schülern ermöglichen, sondern ein gründliches Verstehen dessen, was im Menschen eigentlich vorgeht, wenn er mathematisiert oder geometrisiert. Und darauf beruht im Grunde genommen der scheinbar paradoxe, aber tief bedeutsame Ausspruch Platos: Gott geometrisiert. - Er meinte nicht, daß Gott bloß im Mathematischen Fünf- oder Sechsecke schaffe, sondern daß er schaffe mit einer solchen inneren Kraft, wie wir sie uns, allerdings nur bildlich abstrakt, schon vergegenwärtigen in dem mathematischen Denken. Deshalb glaube ich, daß gerade derjenige, der gründlich versteht, wo Mathematik liegt im Felde der Wissenschaften, auch verstehen wird, wo Geisteswissenschaft liegt.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":197,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/324/1921-03-16/p027"},{"locus":"GA 324/1921-03-16/p028","passage_number":28,"text":"Diese Geisteswissenschaft wird ihr Recht erkämpfen, wie auch ihre Widersacher auftreten mögen, denn sie will durchaus nicht auf irgendwelche leichtfertigen oder dilettantischen Grundlagen bauen, sondern sie will gerade auf wirklicher Exaktheit und auf historischer Gründlichkeit sich aufbauen. Deshalb darf ich schon sagen: Diejenigen etwaigen Gegner, die wirklich ernsthaft eingehen auf dasjenige, was die hier gemeinte Geisteswissenschaft zu ihrer Rechtfertigung zu sagen hat, können dieser Geisteswissenschaft immer willkommen sein, denn mit denen wird sie gern diskutieren. Sie hat keine Angst vor ihnen, denn sie ist ausgerüstet mit all den wissenschaftlichen Waffen, die in den anderen Wissenschaften vorhanden sind, und kann damit kämpfen. Sie möchte nur nicht just fortwährend aufgehalten sein durch diejenigen, die nichts von ihr verstehen und gerade von ihrem puren Dilettantismus und ihrer niedrigen Gesinnung aus gegen sie auftreten, denn Geisteswissenschaft, so wie sie hier aufgefaßt wird, glaubt, daß sie eine Notwendigkeit für die übrigen Fachwissenschaften ist, und sie hat im Grunde genommen keine Zeit zu verlieren, denn es ist notwendig, daß die Grenzen, in die sich die Fachwissenschaften überall gestellt finden, durch diese Geisteswissenschaft überschritten werden. Daher müssen wir zunächst uns schon ein wenig dazu entschließen, diejenigen, die ohne Gründe gegen diese Geisteswissenschaft auftreten, aus Beweggründen heraus, über die vielleicht noch da oder dort auch im Laufe dieser Vorträge schon eine Andeutung fallen wird, zuweilen unsanft anzufassen. Denn im Grunde genommen müßte gerade heute der Menschheit so schnell als möglich über Geisteswissenschaft ernsthaft, ganz ernsthaft und exakt wissenschaftlich gesprochen werden, und das kann auch geschehen, wenn man nur auf sie eingeht.","text_trust":"verbatim","quote_safe":true,"word_count":253,"url":"https://anthroposophy.ai/v1/steiner/de/ga/324/1921-03-16/p028"}],"english":["GA 324/1921-03-16/p038"],"method":"reader","confidence":"high","correspondence":"established","length_check":{"de_words":450,"en_words":420,"ratio":0.93,"partial":false},"pairing_state":"verified","verified":true,"evidence":["reader"],"reader_german":["GA 324/1921-03-16/p027","GA 324/1921-03-16/p028"]},"witness_completeness":{"ratio":0.89,"band":"comparable","note":null,"word_count":5618,"original_word_count":6316,"may_be_abridged":false},"witness_quality":{"translator":{"scope":"unit","status":"recorded","translator":"Walter Stuber and Mark Gardner","identified_edition":"MP1991","book_title":"Anthroposophy and Science","publisher":"Mercury Press","publisher_inferred":true,"match_score":1.0,"source_url":"https://www.rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA324/English/MP1991/19210316p01.html","evidence":"lecture_list_row","publisher_note":"The publisher is inferred from the edition code in this lecture's source URL, not stated by the source page. 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