LXIV. On Clairvoyance
GA 90a/1904-10-30/p012
·1904-10-30
·
English
HighHigh alignmentThis translation's paragraph count matches the German original — the locus maps cleanly to the same paragraph in DE.
Record: listeners' notes. Written from listeners' notes, summaries, or memory rather than a shorthand transcript. The wording is the note-taker's as much as Steiner's: weigh a single striking phrase here far more cautiously than the same phrase in a stenographic volume, and do not rest an argument on one word. Evidence: «Frühe Vortragsreihen und Einzelvorträge für Mitglieder in Berlin 1903–1904 nach ausführlichen und z.T. fragmentarischen Mitschriften.» (Early lecture series and single lectures for members in Berlin 1903-1904, from detailed and in part fragmentary listeners' transcripts.). The publisher's description of the volume, as mirrored on AnthroWiki (GA 90a); the description calls them "Hörermitschriften", and the served text carries the note-taker's gap marker "[Lücke in der Mitschrift]". The translation is the maintainer's, not a published one.
There is a point in ordinary human consciousness that marks a turning point in the development of every person who is in any way reflective or sensible. This is the awakening of self-awareness. You all know that at first the child does not speak in the first person, but says: “Charles wants,” “Mary wants.” It is a very specific stage in the development of the human being when the possibility arises that he may say “I”. This awakening of self-awareness is different from all other facts that one can experience. It is a very intimate experience. Everyone can say “I” to themselves. You can give any other thing a different name. I can only say “I” to myself and no one can say “I” to another “I”. Only a person can refer to themselves with the very specific name, “I”.
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