The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Introduction

[ 1 ] When Johann Gottlieb Fichte presented his "Doctrine" in the fall of 1813 as the mature fruit of a life devoted entirely to the service of truth, he said the following right at the beginning: "This doctrine presupposes an entirely new inner sensory tool, through which a new world is given that does not exist at all for the ordinary person." And then he used a comparison to show how incomprehensible his teaching must be to those who want to judge it with the ideas of the ordinary senses: "Imagine a world of people born blind, who are therefore only aware of the things and their relationships that exist through the sense of touch. Go among them and speak to them of colors and other relationships that exist only through light and for sight. Either you speak to them of nothing, and this is the happier thing for them to say, for in this way you will soon realize the error and, if you are not able to open their eyes, you will cease to speak in vain." Now, the person who speaks of such things to people, to which Fichte points in this case, is all too often in a situation similar to that of the sighted between blind people. But these things are those which refer to man's true nature and highest goal. And so anyone who wanted to believe that it is necessary to "stop talking in vain" would have to despair of humanity. On the contrary, we must not doubt for a moment that it is possible to "open the eyes" of anyone with the good will to do so. - All those who felt within themselves that they themselves had developed the "inner sensory tool" through which they were able to recognize the true nature of man hidden from the outer senses have therefore spoken and written from this premise. Since the earliest times, such "hidden wisdom" has therefore been spoken of again and again. - Those who have grasped something of it feel its possession just as surely as those who have well-educated eyes feel the possession of color concepts. For him, therefore, this "hidden wisdom" needs no "proof". And he also knows that it can need no proof for those to whom the "higher sense" has opened up like him. He can speak to such a person just as a traveler can speak about America to those who have not seen America themselves, but who can form an idea of it because they would see everything he has seen if they had the opportunity to do so.

[ 2 ] But the observer of the supernatural should not only speak to explorers of the spiritual world. He must address his words to all people. For he has to report on things that concern all people; indeed, he knows that no one can be "human" in the true sense of the word without knowledge of these things. And he speaks to all men because he knows that there are different degrees of understanding for what he has to say. He knows that even those who are still far away from the moment when their own spiritual research is opened up to them can show him understanding. For the feeling and the understanding of the truth lie within every human being. And it is to this understanding, which can shine forth in every healthy soul, that he first turns. He also knows that there is a power in this understanding that must gradually lead to the higher degrees of knowledge. This feeling, which perhaps at first sees nothing at all of what is being spoken to it, is itself the magician who unlocks the "eye of the spirit". This feeling stirs in the darkness. The soul does not see; but through this feeling it is seized by the power of truth; and then the truth will gradually approach the soul and open its "higher sense". For some it may take a shorter time, for others a longer time; those who have patience and perseverance will reach this goal. Because even if not every person born physically blind can be operated on: every spiritual eye can be opened; and it is only a matter of time before it is opened.

[ 3 ] Academia and scientific education are not preconditions for the opening of this "higher sense". It is just as accessible to the naive person as it is to the scientifically advanced. What is often called "sole" science in the present day can often be more of a hindrance than a help to this goal. This is because this science naturally only accepts as "real" that which is accessible to the ordinary senses. And as great as its merits are for the recognition of this reality, when it declares what is necessary and beneficial for its science to be authoritative for all human knowledge, it also creates a wealth of prejudices that close off access to higher realities.

[ 4 ] There is often an objection to what is said here: man has "insurmountable limits" to his knowledge. These limits cannot be exceeded; therefore, all knowledge that does not observe such "limits" must be rejected. And anyone who wants to claim something about things that many consider to be beyond the limits of human cognition is probably also regarded as quite immodest. Such an objection completely ignores the fact that higher knowledge must be preceded by a development of human cognitive powers. What lies beyond the limits of cognition before such a development lies within the realm of cognition after the awakening of abilities that lie dormant in every human being. - However, one thing must not be ignored. One could say: what is the use of talking to people about things for which their powers of cognition have not been awakened, and which are therefore closed to them? But this is a wrong assessment of the matter. One needs certain abilities to find the things in question, but if they are communicated after they have been found, then every person can understand them who wants to apply unbiased logic and a healthy sense of truth. In this book no other things are communicated than those which can make the impression on anyone who allows all-round thinking, unclouded by prejudice, and an unreserved, free sense of truth to work in him, that through them the riddles of human life and world phenomena can be approached in a satisfactory way. Just take the standpoint of the question: Is there a satisfactory explanation of life if the things that are claimed are true? And you will find that the life of every human being provides the confirmation.

[ 5 ] In order to be a "teacher" in these higher areas of existence, however, it is not enough for a person simply to have made sense of them. This also requires "science" in them, just as science is part of the teaching profession in the field of ordinary reality. "Higher vision" does not make one a "knower" of the spiritual any more than healthy senses make one a "scholar" of sensory reality. And since in truth all reality, the lower and the higher spiritual, are but two sides of one and the same fundamental being, he who is ignorant in the lower realizations will probably remain so for the most part in higher things. This fact creates a feeling of immeasurable responsibility in those who - through spiritual vocation - feel compelled to speak about the spiritual realms of existence. It imposes modesty and restraint on him. But it should not prevent anyone from dealing with the higher truths. Not even those for whom the rest of their lives give them no reason to concern themselves with the ordinary sciences. For one can certainly fulfill his task as a human being without understanding anything about botany, zoology, mathematics and other sciences; but one cannot be "human" in the full sense of the word without having come close in some way to the nature and destiny of man revealed by the knowledge of the supernatural.

[ 6 ] The highest that man is able to look up to is called the "divine". And he must think of his highest destiny in some way in connection with this divine. For this reason, the wisdom that transcends the sensual, which reveals to him his nature and thus his destiny, may well be called "divine wisdom" or theosophy. The observation of spiritual processes in human life and in the universe can be called spiritual science. If, as has been done in this book, those results which relate to the spiritual essence of man are singled out, then the term "theosophy" can be used for this field, because it has been applied in this direction for centuries.

[ 7 ] From the attitude indicated here, a sketch of theosophical worldview is sketched in this writing. He who has written it down does not want to represent anything that is not a fact for him in a similar sense as an experience of the outer world is a fact for eyes and ears and the ordinary mind. - After all, we are dealing with experiences that become accessible to everyone if they are determined to follow the "path of knowledge" outlined in a special section of this writing. One approaches the things of the supersensible world in the right way if one assumes that healthy thinking and feeling are capable of understanding everything that can flow in true knowledge from the higher worlds, and that if one starts from this understanding and lays the firm foundation with it, one has also taken an important step towards one's own vision; even if, in order to attain this, other things must be added. But one closes the door to true higher knowledge if one spurns this path and only wants to penetrate the higher worlds in other ways. The principle of not recognizing higher worlds until one has seen them is an obstacle to this seeing itself. The will to first understand through healthy thinking what can be seen later promotes this seeing. It conjures up important powers of the soul that lead to this "seeing of the seer".