Theosophy
GA 9
Chapter I: 2. The Soul Nature of Man
[ 1 ] Man's soul nature as his own inner world is different from his bodily nature. When attention is turned to even the simplest sensation, what is personally his own comes at once to the fore. Thus no one can know whether one person perceives even a simple sensation in exactly the same way as another. It is known that there are people who are color-blind. They see things only in various shades of grey. Others are only partially color-blind. Because of this they are unable to distinguish between certain shades of color. The picture of the world that their eyes gives them is different from that of so-called normal persons. The same holds good more or less in regard to the other senses. Thus it will seem without further elaboration that even simple sensations belong to the inner world. I can perceive with my bodily senses the red table that another person perceives but I cannot perceive his sensation of red. We must, therefore, describe sensation as belonging to the soul. If this single fact is grasped quite clearly, we shall soon cease to regard inner experiences as mere brain processes or something similar. Feeling must link itself with sensation. One sensation causes us pleasure, another displeasure. These are stirrings of our inner life, our soul life. In our feelings we create a second world in addition to the one working on us from without. A third is added to this—the world of the will. Through the will we react on the outer world thereby stamping the impress of our inner being upon it. The soul of man, as it were, flows outwards in the activities of his will.
The actions of man differ from the occurrences of outer nature in that they bear the impress of his inner life. Thus the soul as man's own possession stands confronting the outer world. He receives from the outer world the incitements, but he creates in response to these incitements a world of his own. The body becomes the foundation of the soul being of man.
II. Die seelische Wesenheit des Menschen
[ 1 ] Als eigene Innenwelt ist die seelische Wesenheit des Menschen von seiner Leiblichkeit verschieden. Das Eigene tritt sofort entgegen, wenn man die Aufmerksamkeit auf die einfachste Sinnesempfindung lenkt. Niemand kann zunächst wissen, ob ein anderer eine solche einfache Sinnesempfindung in genau der gleichen Art erlebt wie er selbst. Bekannt ist, dass es Menschen gibt, die farbenblind sind. Solche sehen die Dinge nur in verschiedenen Schattierungen von Grau. Andere sind teilweise farbenblind. Sie können daher gewisse Farbennuancen nicht wahrnehmen. Das Weltbild, das ihnen ihr Auge gibt, ist ein anderes als dasjenige sogenannter normaler Menschen. Und ein Gleiches gilt mehr oder weniger für die andern Sinne. Ohne weiteres geht daraus hervor, dass schon die einfache Sinnesempfindung zur Innenwelt gehört. Mit meinen leiblichen Sinnen kann ich den roten Tisch wahrnehmen, den auch der andere wahrnimmt; aber ich kann nicht des andern Empfindung des Roten wahrnehmen. — Man muss demnach die Sinnesempfindung als Seelisches bezeichnen. Wenn man sich diese Tatsache nur ganz klar macht, dann wird man bald aufhören, die Innenerlebnisse als bloße Gehirnvorgänge oder ähnliches anzusehen. — An die Sinnesempfindung schließt sich zunächst das Gefühl. Die eine Empfindung macht dem Menschen Lust, die andere Unlust. Das sind Regungen seines inneren, seines seelischen Lebens. In seinen Gefühlen schafft sich der Mensch eine zweite Welt zu derjenigen hinzu, die von außen auf ihn einwirkt. Und ein Drittes kommt hinzu: der Wille. Durch ihn wirkt der Mensch wieder auf die Außenwelt zurück. Und dadurch prägt er sein inneres Wesen der Außenwelt auf. Die Seele des Menschen fließt in seinen Willenshandlungen gleichsam nach außen. Dadurch unterscheiden sich die Taten des Menschen von den Ereignissen der äußeren Natur, dass die ersteren den Stempel seines Innenlebens tragen. So stellt sich die Seele als das Eigene des Menschen der Außenwelt gegenüber. Er erhält von der Außenwelt die Anregungen; aber er bildet in Gemäßheit dieser Anregungen eine eigene Welt aus. Die Leiblichkeit wird zum Untergrunde des Seelischen.
II. The spiritual essence of the human being
[ 1 ] As a separate inner world, man's spiritual essence is distinct from his physicality. What is intrinsic is immediately apparent when one directs one's attention to the simplest sensory perception. No one can initially know whether another person experiences such a simple sensation in exactly the same way as he does. It is known that there are people who are color-blind. They only see things in different shades of gray. Others are partially colorblind. They are therefore unable to perceive certain nuances of color. The view of the world that their eyes give them is different from that of so-called normal people. And the same applies more or less to the other senses. It is easy to see that even simple sensory perception belongs to the inner world. With my bodily senses I can perceive the red table, which the other person also perceives; but I cannot perceive the other person's sensation of red. One must therefore describe sensory perception as spiritual. If one only makes this fact quite clear to oneself, then one will soon cease to regard inner experiences as mere brain processes or the like. Sensation is initially followed by feeling. The one sensation gives man pleasure, the other displeasure. These are stirrings of his inner, his spiritual life. In his feelings, man creates a second world in addition to the one that affects him from the outside. And a third is added: the will. Through it, the human being acts back on the outside world. And in doing so, he imprints his inner being on the outside world. Man's soul flows outwards, as it were, in his acts of will. This distinguishes man's actions from the events of external nature in that the former bear the stamp of his inner life. In this way, the soul confronts the outside world as man's own self. It receives stimuli from the outside world; but it forms its own world in accordance with these stimuli. The body becomes the foundation of the soul.