IN 1894 Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) published what remains one of his most important works, The Philosophy of Freedom, which originally appeared in German under the title Die Philosophie der Freiheit. Although “freiheit” is directly related to the English word, “freedom,” by the time the book came to be published in English for the second time – in 1922, under the direction of the famous American company G.P. Putnam’s Sons – the author had requested to the translator that the title be changed to The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity and explained that every time the word “freedom” appears in the text, as it does with great frequency, it should be interpreted in this more precise and subtle fashion.

As Steiner notes in the English preface that had originally been written for the revised German edition of Spring 1918, some four years earlier, The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity was intended to address two distinct problems. The first involves the “essential nature” of man and the fact that neither experience nor science appears to alleviate our feelings of uncertainly, whilst the second raises the crucial issue of whether we are truly free or if the very notion itself is an illusion based on the inability to appreciate what is or is not necessary for our more authentic fulfilment:

It is no artificial tissue of theories which provokes this question. In a certain mood it presents itself quite naturally to the human mind. And it is easy to feel that a mind lacks something of its full stature which has never once confronted with the utmost seriousness of inquiry the two possibilities—freedom or necessity. (p.8)

In short, Steiner believes that the second problem involves a “spiritual problem” that is affected by the overriding sense of doubt arising from the first. Our essential nature, therefore, must be consistent with a form of knowledge which validates free will simply on account of allowing for its free expression.

Developing this knowledge, Steiner contends, does not mean conjuring up a purely theoretical solution to the problem but involves facilitating an “inward” spiritual activity by which we

may then, as desire or fate dictate, adventure further into the breadths and depths of this unfathomable life of ours. Thus it would appear that there is a kind of knowledge which proves its justification and validity by its own inner life as well as by the kinship of its own life with the whole life of the human mind. (p.8)

Steiner’s purpose is not to anticipate the methods of spiritual development that are so prevalent in his later work, but to offer a basic foundation for the view that human existence is played-out within the context of what he describes as a “genuine Spiritual world”. It is absolutely vital, prior to embarking upon any form of spiritual life, to understand that the spiritual world is an incontrovertible fact and this is the most essential purpose behind this most fundamental of Anthroposophical texts.

It is for this reason that when he came to re-evaluate the work some twenty-five years after writing it, the author made very few changes and certainly none that undermine the central philosophical tenets of which the original text was comprised. Over the coming days, I intend to examine Steiner’s work in some depth.