Theosophy
GA 9
I-2. The Soul Being of Man
[ 1 ] Man's soul-nature as his own inner world is different from his bodily nature. That which is his very own comes at once to the fore, when attention is turned to the simplest sensation. Thus no one can know whether another person perceives even such a simple sensation in exactly the same way as one does oneself. It is known that there are people who are colour-blind. They see things only in different shades of grey. Others are partially colour-blind. They are unable, because of this, to perceive certain shades of colours. The picture of the world which their eyes give them is different from that of so-called normal persons. And the same holds good more or less in regard to the other senses. It will be seen, therefore, without further elaboration, that even simple sensations belong to the inner world. I can perceive with my bodily senses the red table which another person also perceives; but I cannot perceive his sensation of red. Sensation must therefore be described as belonging to the soul. If we grasp this fact alone quite clearly, we shall soon cease to regard inner experiences as mere brain processes or something similar. Feeling is closely allied to sensation. One sensation causes man pleasure, another displeasure. These are stirrings of his inner, his soul-life. In his feelings man creates a second world in addition to that which works on him from without. And a third is added to this—the will. Through the will man reacts on the outer world. And he thereby stamps the impress of his inner being on the outer world. The soul of man as it were flows outwards in the activities of his will. The actions of the human being differ from the occurrences of outer nature in that they bear the impress of his inner life. Thus the soul as that which is man's very own stands in contradistinction to 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.