Generally one attends a Goethean conversation only if one is prepared to do so. Preparation is of two sorts: long-term and short-term.
Long-term preparation is the sort of thing an individual accrues through experience and life choices. One's wisdom, character and clairvoyant capacity are the result of long-term preparation. Generally one does not participate in Goethean conversation unless these virtues are somewhat developed.
Short-term preparation is analogous to a student doing his (her) homework before coming to class. On the strength of such preparation, the student is expected to be able to converse spontaneously with the teacher, and to satisfy the teacher when called on. In Goethean conversation however, there is no teacher per se. That function is reserved for a kind of social judgment, a collective perception of how well the speaker has prepared for what is being discussed, and a perception of what is possible for the discussion, given the level of preparation that has been brought to it.
Let us say,
(P9) The Principle of Preparation and Preparedness.
Wedding Garment
Thanks Carl - I always find the Gospel story of the guests invited to the wedding feast interesting in this regard.
In that parable, on the one hand the king ends up sending his servants out to invite anyone they can find to the feast - that's all very nice, so then you'd think he might be less picky about their standard of dress but of course the clincher comes when someone is thrown out because he comes along but hasn't worn wedding garments.
And then there is the story of the five foolish virgins and the five wise virgins waiting for the bridegroom - when I come to think of it preparation is quite a theme in the New Testament isn't it!
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