Steiner and the Mainstream

Efforts like Steiner Studies are a bit of a conundrum. In the anthroposophical movement we are always complaining about how Steiner is invisible to the mainstream. How nobody knows about him, and he doesn’t get the credit he deserves. But the mainstream is only going to handle him the way it knows how. They will use their worldview, their academic and analytic tools. They will treat him just like any other interesting...

Dogmatism and the “Waldorf Critics”

I’ve been tuning in and out to the chatter of the Waldorf Critics for years now. Frankly, I find most of it tedious. But I do often ponder the significance of the Waldorf Critics as a phenomenon. One thing that I’ve been thinking a lot about recently is the nature of dogmatism. A frequent criticism levied against the whole Waldorf movement on the WC list is that everyone in it is a dogmatic Steiner devotee. What...

Steiner and Treitschke

Last week someone e-mailed me a post that Peter Staudenmaier wrote to the Waldorf Critics list nearly a year ago about a page I put up on my Defending Steiner site. It took me a little while to get around to investigating it, but upon careful examination of the claims that Peter Staudenmaier has made, I find it appropriate to write the following response. I made mistakes. Flipping the “e” and the “i"...

Why is Steiner so hard to read?

To answer this question it is helpful to distinguish between Steiner’s written works and his lectures, and among the lectures between those given to a general audience, and those given to Theosophists. The public lectures are actually the easiest to read. The books are difficult because of the philospical language (think Hegel or Kant, both of whom Steiner read extensively). The Theosophical lectures have their own...

Star in the East: Krishnamurti, the Invention of a...

Star in the East: Krishnamurti, the Invention of a Messiah By Roland Vernon Reviewed by Daniel Hindes I got this book off half.com for a dollar (plus shipping). I got it because I am generally interested in Krishnamurti and the early history of the Theosophical Society through my interest in Rudolf Steiner. Steiner got his start as the General Secretary of the German branch of the Theosophical Society, before he and his...

Steiner’s Critics and the Internet

Critics and the Internet

Originally published in the Autumn 2005 Newsletter of the Anthroposophical Society in America.

Clairvoyance – C.W. Leadbeater

Clairvoyance by C.W. Leadbeater Adyar, India: Theosophical Publishing House 1903 13th Reprinting, 1978 Reviewed by Daniel Hindes This is a rather interesting book. It was published in 1903 (though written in 1899), a year before Rudolf Steiner’s Theosophy and two before How to Know Higher Worlds. In reading it, it seems evident – between the lines as it were – that Leadbeater speaks of clairvoyance as one who has...

Racism vs Racialism

Kwame Anthony Appiah’s distinction between ‘racialism’ and ‘racism’ seems important in considering Steiner’s statements on the subject of race. A nice summary is provided by George Fredrickson in his book Racism: A Short History.[1]First Fredrickson offers Appiah’s definition of ‘racialism’ as a belief "that there are heritable characteristics, possessed by members...

Peter Staudenmaier Mistranslations

A couple of days ago I pointed out an mistranslation by Peter Staudenmaier: "Die Negerrasse gehört nicht zu Europa, und es ist natürlich nur ein Unfug, daß sie jetzt in Europa eine so große Rolle spielt." he translated to: "The negro race does not belong in Europe, and it is of course nothing but a disgrace that this race is now playing such a large role in Europe." And I provided...

Responding to the WC III

Another poster that has been looking at my writing is someone who signs their work "Barnaby". Before I get into the detailed points that Barnaby makes, I would like to comment on the character of his post. Barnaby takes a mildly derisive stance in his comments, weaving just a few facts into a ringing indictment of my logic. This is classic polemic, delivered WC style. And as usual, it is based on a few illogical...

More Staudenmaier Mistranslations

Serena Blaue wrote (on the Anthroposophy Tomorrow mail list) When [Peter Staudenmaier] translates "Die Negerrasse gehört nicht zu Europa, und es ist natürlich nur ein Unfug, daß sie jetzt in Europa eine so große Rolle spielt." into " The negro race does not belong in Europe, and it is of course nothing but a disgrace that this race is now playing such a large role in Europe." "...

Responding to the WC II

Walden continues: Looks like I might have found an answer to my question – but it seems confusing… I previously wrote: Trying to slowly make my way through a web site that Serena pointed out and I have a question regarding something the writer (Daniel Hindes) states: "Blavatsky did indeed originate the term "Root Race". And she did declare that indigenous peoples are dying out. However,...