8. The Harmony Between Spiritual Science and Natural Science and the Misconceptions about the Former and the Building Dedicated to it in Dornach

GA 70b/1916-01-14/p041 ·1916-01-14 · English HighHigh alignmentThis translation's paragraph count matches the German original — the locus maps cleanly to the same paragraph in DE.
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If we really look at the work of the natural sciences on the one hand and the humanities on the other, we will find how the two work into each other, how the two work quite contrary to each other, and then the misunderstandings will disappear. Yes, dear attendees, they will disappear as they have disappeared in another area. I have already pointed this out. Today, there are still many who believe that they are standing on the firm ground of natural science and that they must object to spiritual science in this or that way. We have seen how this is understandable. Exactly the same applies when we look at the matter in the right way, which emerged when people had to get used to the fact that the earth does not stand still in space, but moves at a tremendous speed, that the movement of the heavenly bodies or even the standing still of the sun cannot be explained as it was in the past, but in the Copernican way. At that time, the new natural scientific world view contradicted the habits of thought. And people, especially those of a religious persuasion, believed that they had many, many objections to raise against this newer scientific way of thinking. It was even believed that religion was endangered by this newer natural science. As a result of this newer scientific way of thinking, with which science was intimately connected over the centuries, many things have changed. Those who today engage with the objections raised against Copernicanism and Galileo in the past find it historically interesting, but today it no longer makes any particular impression. The habits of thought have changed. What was once vigorously opposed is now taken for granted by many. And the following example, which I already mentioned here in a lecture last winter, can be repeatedly brought before our souls.

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Cite: GA 70b/1916-01-14/p041 · edition English