Anthroposophy

founded by Rudolf Steiner

Anthroposophy is a philosophy founded in the early 20th-century by esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world, accessible to human experience. Followers of anthroposophy aim to develop mental faculties of spiritual discovery through a mode of thought independent of sensory experience. They also aim to present their ideas in a manner verifiable by rational discourse and specifically seek a precision and clarity in studying the spiritual world mirroring that obtained by natural historians in investigations of the physical world.

The philosophy has its roots in German idealist and mystical philosophies. Steiner chose the term anthroposophy (from anthropo-, human, and Sophia, wisdom) to emphasize his philosophy's humanistic orientation. Anthroposophical ideas have been employed in alternative movements in many areas including education (both in Waldorf schools and in the Camphill movement), agriculture, medicine, banking, organizational development, and the arts. The main organization for advocacy of Steiner's ideas, the Anthroposophical Society, is headquartered at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland.

Anthroposophy's supporters include Pulitzer Prize-winning and Nobel Laureate Saul Bellow, Nobel prize winner Selma Lagerlöf, Andrei Bely, Joseph Beuys, Owen Barfield, architect Walter Burley Griffin, Wassily Kandinsky, Andrei Tarkovsky, Bruno Walter, Right Livelihood Award winners Sir George Trevelyan, and Ibrahim Abouleish, and child psychiatrist Eva Frommer. Albert Schweitzer was a friend of Steiner's and was supportive of his ideals for cultural renewal. The historian of religion Olav Hammer has termed anthroposophy "the most important esoteric society in European history." Authors, scientists, and physicians including Michael Shermer, Michael Ruse, Edzard Ernst, David Gorski, and Simon Singh have criticized anthroposophy's application in the areas of medicine, biology, agriculture, and education to be dangerous and pseudoscientific. Others including former Waldorf pupil Roger Rawlings, activist Dan Dugan, and historian Geoffrey Ahern have criticized anthroposophy itself as a dangerous cult that is fundamentally anti-rational and anti-scientific.

Anthroposophy in Wikipedia
Rudolf Steiner in Wikipedia
Rudolf Steiner in Geni

The applications of anthroposophy to practical fields include:

Steiner/Waldorf education
Biodynamic agriculture
Anthroposophical medicine
Special needs education and services
Architecture
Eurythmy
Social finance and entrepreneurship
Organizational development, counselling and biography work
Speech and drama
Art