The Rudolf Steiner Archive

Preface to the 3rd edition (1910)

What was said on the occasion of the publication of the second edition of this book may also be said about this third edition. Once again, “additions and expansions” have been inserted in individual places, which I consider important for a more precise characterization of the subject matter; I saw no need for any significant changes to what was already contained in the first and second editions. Nor is there any need to change what was said about the purpose of the book when it was first published and what was added in the preface to the second edition. Therefore, the preface to the first edition and what was added in the preface to the second edition are reproduced here:

This book aims to describe some aspects of the supernatural world. Those who only accept the sensory world will consider this description to be an insubstantial fantasy. However, those who seek paths that lead out of the sensory world will soon come to understand that human life only gains value and meaning through insight into another world. Such insight does not alienate people from “real” life, as many fear. For it is through this insight that they learn to stand securely and firmly in this life. They learn to recognize the causes of life, whereas without this insight they grope their way through its effects like blind people. It is through the knowledge of the supersensible that the sensory “real” gains meaning. Therefore, this knowledge makes one more capable, not less capable, for life. Only those who understand life can become truly “practical” people.

The author of this book describes nothing that he cannot testify to through experience, through the kind of experience that can be had in these areas.

Only what has been experienced in this sense should be presented. This book cannot be read in the way books are usually read in our age. In a certain sense, every page, even every sentence, will have to be worked out by the reader. This has been deliberately intended. For only in this way can the book become to the reader what it is meant to be. Those who merely read through it will not have read it at all. Its truths must be experienced. Spiritual Science has value only in this sense.

From the standpoint of conventional science, the book cannot be judged unless the point of view for such a judgment is gained from the book itself. If the critic adopts this point of view, he will certainly see that these statements in no way contradict true scientificity. The author knows that he has not wanted to contradict his scientific conscientiousness with a single word.

Anyone who wants to seek the truths presented here in another way will find it in my “Philosophy of Freedom.” In different ways, these two books strive for the same goal. The one is not necessary for understanding the other, although it is certainly helpful for some.

Those who seek the “ultimate” truths in this book may put it down unsatisfied. The basic truths should first be given from the entire field of Spiritual Science.

It is certainly in human nature to ask about the beginning and end of the world, the purpose of existence, and the nature of God. But those who seek not words and concepts for the intellect, but real insights for life in the spiritual sense, know that in a work dealing with the beginnings of spiritual knowledge, one cannot speak of things that belong to the higher stages of wisdom. It is only through understanding this beginning that it becomes clear how higher questions should be asked. In another writing that follows on from this, namely the author's “Occult Science,” one finds further information on the subject dealt with here.

The following was added to the preface to the second edition:

Anyone who currently presents a description of supersensible facts should be clear about two things. The first is that our time needs the cultivation of supersensible knowledge; the other, however, is that today's spiritual life is filled with so many mental images and feelings that such a description appears to many to be nothing more than wild fantasy and daydreaming. The present needs supersensible knowledge because everything that people learn about the world and life in the usual way raises a myriad of questions in them that can only be answered by supersensible truths. For we should not deceive ourselves: what can be communicated about the foundations of existence within today's intellectual currents are not answers for the deeply feeling soul, but questions relating to the great mysteries of the world and life. For a time, some may indulge in the opinion that they have found a solution to the riddles of existence in the “results of strictly scientific facts” and in the conclusions of some contemporary thinkers. But when the soul descends to those depths it must reach in order to truly understand itself, what initially appeared to be a solution now appears to be merely a stimulus to the true question. And an answer to this question should not merely satisfy human curiosity, but is essential for the inner peace and harmony of the soul. Achieving such an answer not only satisfies the thirst for knowledge, but also makes people capable of work and able to cope with the tasks of life, while the lack of a solution to the corresponding questions paralyzes them mentally and ultimately also physically. Knowledge of the supersensible is not just something for theoretical needs, but for true life practice. Precisely because of the nature of contemporary intellectual life, spiritual knowledge is therefore an indispensable field of knowledge for our time.

On the other hand, there is the fact that many people today reject most strongly what they need most. The compelling power of many opinions, which have been built up on the basis of “reliable scientific experience,” is so great for some that they cannot help but consider the presentation of a book such as this to be utter nonsense. The presenter of supernatural insights can face such things without any illusions. — It is, of course, tempting to demand that such a person provide “irrefutable” proof for what he claims. However, one fails to realize that this is a deception. For one demands — without being aware of it — not the evidence that lies in the matter itself, but that which one is willing or able to accept. The author of this work knows that it contains nothing that cannot be recognized by anyone who stands on the ground of contemporary knowledge of nature. He knows that all the requirements of natural science can be met and that, precisely for this reason, the nature of the presentation given here by the supersensible world can be found to be well-founded. Indeed, a genuine scientific way of thinking should feel at home in this presentation. And anyone who thinks this way will feel touched by some of the discussions in a way that is characterized by Goethe's profoundly true words: “A false doctrine cannot be refuted, for it rests on the conviction that the false is true.” Discussions are fruitless with those who will only accept evidence that fits in with their way of thinking.

Those who are familiar with the nature of “proof” are aware that the human soul finds truth by means other than discussion. It is from this conviction that this book is now being made available to the public in a second edition.