Rudolf Steiner
An Outline of Occult Science
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Table of contents
Preface
Author's Remarks To First Edition
Chapter I. The Character of Occult Science
Chapter II. The Nature of Man
Chapter III. Sleep and Death
Chapter IV. The Evolution of the World and Man
Chapter V. Knowledge of the Higher Worlds
Chapter VI. The Present and Future Evolution of the World and of Humanity
Chapter VII. Details from the Domain of Occult Science Man's Etheric Body
Footnotes
Preface
One
who undertakes to represent certain results of scientific spiritual
research of the kind recorded in this book, must above all things be
prepared to find that this kind of investigation is at the present
time almost universally regarded as impossible. For things are
related in the following pages about which those who are today
esteemed exact thinkers, assert that they will probably remain
altogether indeterminable by human intelligence. One who knows and
can respect the reasons which prompt many a serious person to assert
this impossibility, would fain make the attempt again and again to
show what misunderstandings are really at the bottom of the belief
that it is not given to human knowledge to penetrate into the
superphysical worlds.For
two things present themselves for consideration. First, no human
being will, on deeper reflection, be able in the long run to shut his
eyes to the fact that his most important questions as to the meaning
and significance of life must remain unanswered, if there be no
access to higher worlds. Theoretically we may delude ourselves
concerning this fact and so get away from it; the depths of our
soul-life, however, will not tolerate such self-delusion. The person
who will not listen to what comes from these depths of the
soul will naturally reject any account of supersensible worlds. There
are however people—and their number is not small—who find it
impossible to remain deaf to the demands coming from the depths of
the soul. They must always be knocking at the gates which, in the
opinion of others, bar the way to what is “incomprehensible.”Secondly,
the statements of “exact thinkers” are on no account to be
despised. Where they have to be taken seriously, one who occupies
himself with them will thoroughly feel and appreciate this
seriousness. The writer of this book would not like to be taken for
one who lightly disregards the enormous thought-labour which has been
expended in determining the limits of the human intellect. This
thought-labour cannot be put aside with a few phrases about “academic
wisdom” and the like. In many cases it has its source in true
striving after knowledge and in genuine discernment. Indeed, even
more than this must be admitted; reasons have been brought forward to
show that that knowledge which is to-day regarded as scientific
cannot penetrate into supersensible worlds, and these reasons
are in a certain sense irrefutable.Now
it may appear strange to many people that the writer of this book
admits this freely, and yet undertakes to make statements about
supersensible worlds. It seems indeed almost impossible that a person
should admit in a
certain sense the
reasons [pg xiii] why knowledge of superphysical worlds is
unattainable, and should yet speak about those worlds.Yet
it is possible to take this attitude, and at the same time to
understand that it impresses others as being inconsistent. It is not
given to every one to enter into the experiences we pass through when
we approach supersensible realms with the human intellect. Then it
turns out that intellectual proofs may certainly be irrefutable, and
that notwithstanding
this, they need not
be decisive with regard to reality. Instead of all sorts of
theoretical explanations, let us now try to make this comprehensible
by a comparison. That comparisons are not in themselves proofs is
readily admitted, but this does not prevent their often making
intelligible what has to be expressed.Human
understanding, as it works in everyday life and in ordinary science,
is actually so constituted that it cannot penetrate into
superphysical worlds. This may be proven beyond the possibility of
denial. But this proof can have no more value for a certain kind of
soul-life than the proof one would use in showing that man's natural
eye cannot, with its visual faculty, penetrate to the smallest cells
of a living being, or to the constitution of far-off celestial
bodies.Just
as the assertion is true and demonstrable that the ordinary power of
seeing does not penetrate as far as the cells, so also is the other
assertion which maintains that ordinary knowledge cannot penetrate
into supersensible worlds. And yet the [pg xiv] proof that the
ordinary power of vision has to stop short of the cells in no way
excludes the investigation of cells. Why should the proof that the
ordinary power of cognition has to stop short of supersensible
worlds, decide anything against the possibility of investigating
those worlds?One
can well sense the feeling which this comparison may evoke in many
people. One can even understand that he who doubts and holds the
above comparison against this labor of thought, does not even faintly
sense the whole seriousness of that mental effort. And yet the
present writer is not only fully convinced of that seriousness, but
is of opinion that that work of thought may be numbered among the
noblest achievements of humanity. To show that the human power of
vision cannot perceive the cellular structure without the help of
instruments, would surely be a useless undertaking; but in exact
thinking, to become conscious of the nature of that thought is a
necessary work of the mind. It is only natural that one who devotes
himself to such work, should not notice that reality may refute him.
The preface to this book can be no place for entering into many
“refutations” of former editions, put forth by those who are
entirely devoid of appreciation of that for which it strives, or who
direct their unfounded attacks against the personality of the author;
but it must, none the less, be emphasized that belittling of serious
scientific thought in this book can only be imputed to the author by
one who [pg xv] wishes to shut himself off from the
spirit of what is
expressed in it.Man's
power of cognition may be augmented and made more powerful, just as
the eye's power of vision may be augmented. Only the means for
strengthening the capacity of cognition are entirely of a spiritual
nature; they are inner processes, belonging purely to the soul. They
consist of what is described in this book as meditation and
concentration (contemplation). Ordinary soul-life is bound up with
the bodily instrument; the strengthened soul-life liberates itself
from it. There are schools of thought at the present time to which
this assertion must appear quite senseless, to which it must seem
based only upon self-delusion. Those who think in this way will find
it easy, from their point of view, to prove that “all soul-life”
is bound up with the nervous system. One who holds the standpoint
from which this book has been written, can thoroughly understand such
proofs. He understands people who say that only superficiality can
assert that there may be some kind of soul-life independent of the
body, and who are quite convinced that in such experiences of the
soul there exists a connection with the life of the nervous system,
which the “dilettantism of occult science” merely fails to
detect.Here
certain quite comprehensible habits of thought are in such sharp
contradiction to what has been described in this book, that there is
as yet no prospect of coming to an understanding with many [pg xvi]
people. It is here that we come to the point where the desire must
arise that it should no longer be a characteristic of our present day
culture to at once decry as fanciful or visionary a method of
research which differs from its own. But on the other hand it is also
a fact at the present time that a number of people can appreciate the
supersensible method of research, as it is presented in this book,
people who understand that the meaning of life is not revealed in
general phrases about the soul, self, and so on, but can only result
from really entering into the facts of superphysical research.Not
from lack of modesty, but with a sense of joyful satisfaction, does
the author of this book feel profoundly the necessity for this fourth
edition after a comparatively short time. The author is not prompted
to this statement by lack of modesty, for he is entirely too
conscious of how little even this new edition approaches that
“outline of a supersensuous world concept” which it is meant to
be. The whole book has once more been revised for the new edition,
much supplementary matter has been inserted at important points, and
elucidations have been attempted. But in numerous passages the author
has realized how poor the means of presentation accessible to him
prove to be in comparison with what superphysical research discovers.
Thus it was scarcely possible to do more than point out the way in
which to reach conceptions of the events described in this book as
the Saturn, Sun, and Moon evolutions. An important aspect of this
subject has been briefly [pg xvii] remodelled in this edition. But
experiences in relation to such things diverge so widely from all
experiences in the realm of the senses, that their presentation
necessitates a continual striving after expressions which may be, at
least in some measure, adequate. One who is willing to enter into the
attempted presentation which has here been made, will perhaps notice
that in the case of many things which cannot possibly be expressed by
mere words, the endeavour has been made to convey them by the
manner of the
description. This manner is, for instance, different in the account
of the Saturn evolution from that used for the Sun evolution, and so
on.Much
complementary and additional matter has been inserted in this edition
in the part dealing with “Perception of the Higher Worlds.” The
endeavour has been made to represent in a graphic way the kind of
inner soul-processes by which the power of cognition liberates itself
from the limits which confine it in the world of sense and thereby
becomes qualified for experiencing the supersensible world. The
attempt has been made to show that these experiences, even though
gained by entirely inner ways and methods, still do not have a merely
subjective significance for the particular individual who gains them.
The description attempts to show that
within the soul
stripped of its individuality and personal peculiarities, an
experience takes place which
every human being
may have in the same way, if he will only work at his development
from out his subjective experiences. It is only when “knowledge of
supersensible [pg xviii] worlds” is thought of as bearing this
character that it may be differentiated from old experiences of
merely subjective mysticism. Of this mysticism it may be said that it
is after all more or less a subjective concern of the mystic. The
scientific spiritual training of the soul, however, as it is
described here, strives for objective experiences, the truth of
which, although recognized in an entirely inner way, may yet, for
that very reason, be found to be universally valid. This again is a
point on which it is very difficult to come to an understanding
concerning many of the habits of thought of our time.In
conclusion, the author would like to observe that it would be well if
even the sympathetic reader of the book would take its statements
exactly as they stand. At the present time there is a very prevalent
tendency to give this or that spiritual movement an historical name,
and to many it is only such a name that seems to make it valuable.
But, it may be asked, what would the statements in this book gain by
being designated “Rosicrucian,” or anything else of the kind?
What is of importance is that in this book a glimpse into
supersensible worlds is attempted with the means which in our present
period of evolution are possible and suitable for the human soul; and
that from this point of view the problems of human destiny and human
existence are considered beyond the limits of birth and death. It is
not a question of an endeavor which shall bear this or that old name,
but of a striving after truth.On
the other hand, expressions have also been [pg xix] used, with
hostile intention, for the conception of the universe presented in
this book. Leaving out of account that those which were intended to
strike and discredit the author most heavily are absurd and
objectively untrue, these expressions are stamped as unworthy by the
fact that they disparage a fully
independent search
for truth; because the aggressors do not judge it on its own merits,
but try to impose on others, as a judgment of these investigations,
erroneous ideas about their dependence upon this or that
tradition,—ideas which they have invented, or adopted from others
without reason. However necessary these words are in face of the many
attacks on the author, it is yet repugnant to him in this place to
enter further into the matter.Rudolf
Steiner
Author's Remarks To First Edition
In
placing a book such as this in the hands of the public, the writer
must calmly anticipate every kind of criticism regarding his work
which is likely to arise in the present day. A reader, for instance,
whose opinions are based upon the results of scientific research,
after noting certain statements made here touching these things, may
pronounce the following judgment: “It is astounding that such
statements should be possible in our time. The most elementary
conceptions of natural science are distorted in such a manner as to
denote positively inconceivable ignorance of even the rudiments of
science. The author uses such terms, for instance, as ‘heat’ in a
way that would lead one to infer that he had let the entire wave of
modern thought on the subject of physics sweep past him unperceived.
Any one familiar with the mere elements of this science would show
him that not even the merest dilettante could have made these
statements, and they can only be dismissed as the outcome of rank
ignorance.”This
and many a similar verdict might be pronounced, and we can picture
our reader, after the perusal of a page or two, laying the book
aside,—smiling or indignant, according to his temperament,—and
[pg xxi] reflecting on the singular growths which a perverse tendency
of thought may put forth in our time. So thinking, he will lay this
volume aside, with his collection of similar freaks of the brain.
What, however, would the author say should such opinions come to his
knowledge? Would he not, from his point of view, also set the critic
down as incapable of judgment or, at least, as one who has not chosen
to bring his good will to bear in forming an intelligent opinion? To
this the answer is most emphatically—No! In no sense whatever does
the author feel this, for he can easily conceive of his critic as
being not only a highly intelligent man, but also a trained
scientist, and one whose opinions are the result of conscientious
thought. The author of this book is able to enter into the feelings
of such a person and to understand the reasons which have led him to
form these conclusions.Now,
in order to comprehend what the author really means, it is necessary
to do here what generally seems to him to be out of place, but for
which there is urgent cause in the case of this book, namely, to
introduce certain personal data. Of course, nothing will be said in
this connection but what bears upon the author's decision to write
this book. What is said in it could not be justified if it bore
merely a personal character. A book of this kind is bound to proffer
views to which any person may attain, and these views must be
presented in such a way [pg xxii] as to suggest no shade of the
personal element, that is, as far as such a thing is possible.It
is therefore not in this sense that the personal note is sounded. It
is only intended to explain how it was possible for the author to
understand the above characterized opinions concerning his
presentations, and yet was able to write this book.It
is true there is one method which would have made the introduction of
the personal element unnecessary—this would have been to specify in
detail all those particulars which would show that the statements
here made are in agreement with the progress of modern science. This
course would, however, have necessitated the writing of many volumes,
and as such a task is at present out of the question, the writer
feels it necessary to state the personal reasons which he believes
justify him in thinking such an agreement thoroughly possible and
satisfactory. Were he not in a position to make the following
explanations, he would most certainly never have gone so far as to
publish such statements as those referring to heat processes.Some
thirty years ago the author had the opportunity of studying physics
in its various branches. At that time the central point of interest
in the sphere of heat phenomena was the promulgation of the so-called
“Mechanical Theory of Heat,” and it happened that this theory so
particularly engrossed his attention that the historical development
of the various interpretations associated with the names of Julius
Robert Mayer, Helmholtz, Joule, Clausius, [pg xxiii] and others,
formed the subject of his continuous study. During that period of
concentrated work he laid those foundations which have enabled him to
follow all the actual advances since made with regard to the theory
of physical heat, without experiencing any difficulty in penetrating
into what science is achieving in this department. Had he been
obliged to confess himself unable to do this, the writer would have
had good reason for leaving unsaid and unwritten much that has been
brought forward in this book.He
has made it a matter of conscience, when writing or speaking on
occult science, to deal only with matters on which he could also
report, in what seemed an adequate manner, the views held by modern
science. With this, however, he does not wish in the least to give
the impression that this is always a necessary prerequisite. Any one
may feel a call to communicate or to publish whatever his judgment,
his sense of truth, and his feelings may prompt him to, even if he is
ignorant of the attitude taken by contemporary science in the matter.
The writer wishes to indicate merely that he holds to the
pronouncements he has made. For instance, he would never have written
those few sentences on the human glandular system, nor those
regarding man's nervous system, contained in this volume, were he not
in a position to discuss both subjects in the terms used by the
modern scientist, when speaking of the glandular and nervous systems
from the standpoint of science.[pg
xxiv]In
spite of the fact that it may be said that he who speaks concerning
“heat,” as is done here, knows nothing of the elements of modern
physics, yet the author feels himself quite justified, because he
believes that he knows present day research along those lines, and
because if it were unknown to him, he would have left the subject
alone. He knows that such utterances may be ascribed to lack of
modesty, but it is necessary to declare his true motives, lest they
should be confounded with others of a very different nature, a result
infinitely worse than a verdict of mere vanity.He
who reads this book as a philosopher, may well ask himself, “Has
this author been asleep to present day research in the field of the
theory of cognition? Had he never heard of the existence of a man
called Kant?” this philosopher might ask, “and did he not know
that according to this man it was simply inadmissible, from a
philosophic point of view, to put forward such statements?” and so
on, while in conclusion he might remark that stuff of so uncritical,
childish, and unprofessional a nature should not be tolerated among
philosophers, and that any further investigation would be waste of
time. However, here again, for reasons already advanced and at the
risk of being again misinterpreted, the writer would fain introduce
certain personal experiences.His
studies of Kant date from his sixteenth year, and he really believes
he is now capable of criticizing quite objectively, from the Kantian
point of view, everything that has been put forward in this [pg xxv]
book. On this account, too, he might have left this book unwritten
were he not fully aware of what moves a philosopher to pass the
verdict of “childishness” whenever the critical standard of the
day is applied. Yet one may actually know that in the Kantian sense
the limits of possible knowledge are here exceeded: one may know in
what way Herbart (who never arrived at an “arrangement of ideas”)
would discover his “naive realism.” One may even know the degree
to which the modern pragmatism of James and Schiller and others would
find the bounds of “true presentments” transgressed—those
presentments which we are able to make our own, to vindicate,
enforce, and to verify.We
may know all these things and yet, for this very reason, feel
justified in holding the views here presented. The writer has dealt
with the tendencies of philosophic thought in his works: “The
Theory of Cognition of Goethe's World-Concept”; “Truth and
Science”; “Philosophy of Freedom”; “Goethe's World Concept”
and “Views of the World and Life in the Nineteenth Century.”Many
other criticisms might be suggested. Any one who had read some of the
writer's earlier works: “Views of the World and Life in the
Nineteenth Century,” for instance, or a smaller work on
Haeckel and his Opponents,
might think it incredible that one and the same man could have
written those books as well as the present work and also his already
published “Theosophy.” “How,” he might ask, “can a man
throw himself into the breach [pg xxvi] for Haeckel, and then, turn
around and discredit every sound theory concerning monism that is the
outcome of Haeckel's researches?” He might understand the author of
this book attacking Haeckel “with fire and sword”; but it passes
the limits of comprehension that, besides defending him, he should
actually have dedicated “Views of the World and Life in the
Nineteenth Century” to him. Haeckel, it might be thought, would
have emphatically declined the dedication had he known that the
author was shortly to produce such stuff as
An Outline of Occult Science,
with all its unwieldy dualism.The
writer of this book is of the opinion that one may very well
understand Haeckel without being bound to consider everything else as
nonsense which does not flow directly from Haeckel's own presentments
and premises. The author is further of the opinion that Haeckel
cannot be understood by attacking him with “fire and sword,” but
by trying to grasp what he has done for science. Least of all does he
hold those opponents of Haeckel to be in the right, against whom he
has in his book,
Haeckel and his Opponents,
sought to defend the great naturalist; for surely, the fact of his
having gone beyond Haeckel's premises by placing the spiritual
conception of the world side by side with the merely natural one
conceived by Haeckel, need be no reason for assuming that he was of
one mind with the latter's opponents. Any one taking the trouble to
look at the matter in the right light must see that the [pg xxvii]
writer's recent books are in perfect accord with those of an earlier
date.But
the author can also conceive of a critic who in general and offhand
looks upon the presentations of this book as the out-pourings of a
fantasy run wild or as dreamy thought-pictures. Yet all that can be
said in this respect is contained in the book itself, and it is
explicitly shown that sane and earnest thought not only can but
must be the
touch-stone of all the facts presented. Only one who submits what is
here advanced to logical and adequate examination, such as is applied
to the facts of natural science, will be in a position to decide for
himself how much reason has to say in the matter.After
saying this much about those who may at first be inclined to take
exception to this work, we may perhaps be permitted to address a few
words to those on whose sympathetic attention we can rely. These will
find all broad essentials contained in the first chapter, “Concerning
the Nature of Occult Science.” A word, however, must here be added.
Although this book deals with investigations carried beyond the
confines of intellect limited to the world of the senses, yet nothing
has been asserted except what can be grasped by any person possessed
of unprejudiced reasoning powers backed by a healthy sense of truth,
and who is at the same time willing to turn these gifts to the best
account; and the writer emphatically wishes it to be understood that
he hopes to appeal to readers who will not be content with merely
accepting on “blind faith” the [pg xxviii] matters presented, but
who will take the trouble to test them by the light of their own
understanding and by the experiences of their own lives. Above all,
he desires cautious
readers, who will allow themselves to be convinced only by what can
be logically justified. The writer is well aware that his work would
be worth nothing were its value to rest on blind belief; it is
valuable only in the degree to which it can be justified by unbiased
reason. It is an easy thing for “blind faith” to confound folly
and superstition with truth, and doubtless many, who have been
content to accept the supersensible on mere faith, will be inclined
to think that this book makes too great demands upon their powers of
thought. It is not a question of merely making certain
communications, but rather of presenting them in a manner consistent
with a conscientious view of the corresponding plane of life; for
this is the plane upon which the loftiest matters are often handled
with unscrupulous charlatanism, and where knowledge and superstition
come into such close contact as to be liable to be confused one with
the other.Any
one acquainted with supersensual research will, on reading this book,
be able to see that the author has sought to define the boundary line
sharply between what can be communicated now from the sphere of
supersensible cognition, and that which will be given out, at a later
time, or at least, in a different form.Rudolf
Steiner
Chapter I. The Character of Occult Science
At
the present time the words “occult science” are apt to arouse the
most varied feelings. Upon some people they work like a magic charm,
like the announcement of something to which they feel attracted by
the innermost powers of their soul; to others there is in the words
something repellent, calling forth contempt, derision, or a
compassionate smile. By many, occult science is looked upon as a
lofty goal of human effort, the crown of all other knowledge and
cognition; others, who are devoting themselves with the greatest
earnestness and noble love of truth to that which appears to them
true science, deem occult science mere idle dreaming and fantasy, in
the same category with what is called superstition. To some, occult
science is like a light without which life would be valueless; to
others, it represents a spiritual danger, calculated to lead astray
immature minds and weak souls, while between these two extremes is to
be found every possible intermediate shade of opinion.
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
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Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!
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