The Mission of Esoteric Science in Our Time

It cannot be denied that in our chaotic times there are indeed many people who are driven to what is called occult science solely by this dark instinct of human nature. And when the opponents of secret science see what such apparent followers do, what they often claim, and how they often view the knowledge of our time, then it is not at all surprising that our opponents come to the conclusion just described. If the occult scientist could be afraid, one could perhaps make the grotesque but true assertion that today he should be more afraid of a large number of his followers than of his opponents. For these opponents will have to make a turn, as we will perhaps characterize in the course of today's lecture, but as will become clear in the next lecture, when we talk about “natural science at a crossroads.” For today, the aim is to clarify the task, meaning, significance, and mission of so-called secret science in our time through this characterization of left and right in a purely narrative form.