An Occult Physiology
GA 128
The lectures contained in this volume were given by Rudolf Steiner in 1911 at the invitation of Prague theosophists.
In Prague — which at that time was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire — there were three different theosophical groups in the years before the First World War. In addition to the “Bohemian Section of the Theosophical Society (Adyar) in Prague,” a group of Czechs led by Jan Bedrnicek had been directly affiliated with the Besant branch in Berlin, led by Rudolf Steiner, since 1906; it was officially called the “Prague Department of the Besant Branch, Berlin.” In addition, there was an independent theosophical working group, the “Bolzano Group,” which had existed since around 1909 and which in 1912 joined the German Section and later the Anthroposophical Society as the “Bolzano Branch.” The leader of this group was Berta Fanta.
The initiative to invite Rudolf Steiner to give a series of lectures in Prague came from the Czech group. On May 25, 1910, its leader, Jan Bedrnicek, traveled to Hamburg to discuss dates and topics with Rudolf Steiner, who was giving a series of lectures there on “The Revelations of Karma.” There was good cooperation between the various theosophical groups at that time. The “Bohemian Section” acted as the official organizer of Rudolf Steiner's lectures, sending out invitations and announcing the lectures in the Prager Tagblatt.
Little is known about the participants in the Prague lecture series; in particular, it has not yet been possible to find out which doctors took part. Only a few names are documented: Dr. Ludwig Noll from Kassel, who was treating Marie von Sivers during this time (see “Marie Steiner-von Sivers — Ein Leben für die Anthroposophie” [Marie Steiner-von Sivers — A Life for Anthroposophy], page 201 ff.), as well as the three Munich doctors Dr. Felix Peipers — who had himself given lectures on occult anatomy and medicine in theosophical circles — Dr. Max Hermann, and Dr. Hanns Rascher.
The translator is unknown.
| I. | The Being of Man | March 20, 1911 |
| II. | Human Duality | March 21, 1911 |
| III. | Co-operation in the Human Duality | March 22, 1911 |
| IV. | Man's Inner Cosmic System | March 23, 1911 |
| V. | The Systems of Supersensible Forces | March 24, 1911 |
| VI. | The Blood as Manifestation and Instrument of the Human Ego | March 26, 1911 |
| VII. | The Conscious Life of Man | March 27, 1911 |
| VIII. | The Human Form and its Co-ordination of Forces | March 28, 1911 |