14. How Can We Know About Supernatural Worlds?

The subject of today's lecture stems from a question that is understandably often asked by those who may have heard about spiritual science and spiritual research in a superficial way and who, due to the habits of thinking and ways of imagining that prevail in wide circles of contemporary society, cannot conceive of how it is possible to gain knowledge of the supersensible worlds. It has often been emphasized here that the point of view of such objections is most understandable to those who themselves stand on the ground of this spiritual research. And it is fair to say that if there were to be any surprise, it would be more surprising if the views represented by spiritual researchers were already finding acceptance in wider circles today than if they were provoking the greatest possible opposition in the widest circles – which is precisely what they must do. The entire height of contemporary culture and the entire development of external economic life in recent centuries make this understandable. It has also been emphasized many times that spiritual science fully recognizes what natural science and the natural scientific approach have achieved for the whole of human culture. But the very height of this scientific approach depended on the spirit of the times, if one may use this term, for a while, and a while in human development is a long time, lasting centuries — a while being taken away from devotion to the spiritual world. It is therefore understandable – because human beings are stimulated to think by the sensory world – that they adopt habits of thinking, ways of imagining, that are unfamiliar with the spiritual world. But it is not only this that leads to opposition to spiritual science; there are also deeper causes involved, so that today's topic “How can human beings know anything about supersensible worlds?” seems quite appropriate.