Submitted by carpediem on Wed, 07/06/2011 - 2:16pm.
PRECONCEPTION AND FREE THOUGHT
Reflections on Judith von Halle (Read inside or Download PDF)
Pre-conception is one of the most insidious enemies on the path of thought.
Judith von Halle
It deprives thinking from doing its work thoroughly, giving it an a-priori pre-packaged
'truth', ready-made but because of this, untrue.
Yet it would be enough to follow the intrinsic tenet of truth by which in order to judge
it is first indispensable to know!
It seems a self-evident concept, but it is not so obvious if it’s still the case that the so called
Anthroposophists, or 'Scaligeriani', or students of esotericism afford to deliver
tranchant judgments on personalities deserving of consideration and respect.
A few names among many: Brian Weiss and Judith von Halle. Very different personalities,
different as their areas of expertise and their mission on earth.
Yet they have something in common: the virulence of pre-conception and pre-judgment they
brought upon themselves. The first by scientists (as well as by Anthroposophists)
the second by Anthroposophists (and by scientists too).
So I told myself: if so much acrimony and prejudice exists against them, well, maybe it's time
to get acquainted with them. I researched as much as I could what has been said and
written about them; then I read all or most of their works, until an image of these
personalities emerged in my soul. Please note, an image, not an opinion, least of all
a pre-conception.
Our soul, when properly used, has the ‘sense organs’ which often enable us to discern
the truth as well as ordinary thinking.
But even that was not enough. It is necessary to turn to the observation of external
reality to correct our judgments if we make some mistake in the exploration of the physical
world, so I needed to have a further response to my images.
In that regard, forgive me if I say something personal.
Living in America, I am often surprised by how many people – even favourably
inclined natures, tending towards objectiveness – lunge in rebukes on the American world –
according to them, Ahriman tout-court - without really knowing it I would remind
these people that if they aren't familiar with the language, culture and unless they have
lived in a certain country, each judgment can’t be but a prejudice. And if it is not ours,
but ‘suggested’ by others – even by the person we value the most - then it's even worse.
That's why I wanted to get to know my two subjects in person, to listen to them live, to see
the light in their eyes, feel the harmony of their word, ask them questions.
During these two meetings, both of which occurred in October of last year, the first one
in Los Angeles and the second in Berlin, I confirmed not only the substance of the inner
images born in me, but also how indispensable it is to know in person those we
afford to judge.
This paper is a result of those two meetings.
* * *
Submitted by manselton on Thu, 06/23/2011 - 8:53am.
Suppose we assume that the root law of the physical universe is a law of the conservation of angular momentum - that the total angular momentum in the cosmos, both orbital and spin, is constant. Orbital angular momentum is mass x velocity x radius, assuming ideal circular motion.
!916 announcement of the publication of the Hoernle translation of The Philosophy of Freedom. Note the titles of the other books published at that time.
"The Philosophy Of Freedom; a modern philosophy of life developed by scientific methods. By Rudolf Steiner. Trans, by Mr. and Mrs. F. A. Hoernle.309p.12rm> Put. $1,25n. Original, published twenty years ago in Germany, has been out of print for some time. It is the early statement of its author's well-known Monism.
The Publishers Weekly, Volume 90, Part 1
By R.R. Bowker Company
New York July 1, 1916
P. 612
Submitted by Tom Last on Fri, 06/10/2011 - 1:03pm.
I need to produce some simple videos like this one on Philosophy of Freedom topics. Questions would be what topics and getting a good script. With a good script the video isn't that hard.
Below are the first words of Rudolf Steiner in the original beginning of the Philosophy of Freedom.
CHAPTER I
THE GOAL OF KNOWLEDGE
Principles Of Individualistic Life 1. Free Oneself From Authority
An energetic effort is being made to shake off every kind of authority. 2. Power Of Individual Expression
Nothing is accepted as valid, unless it springs from the roots of individuality. Everything which hinders the individual in the full development of his powers is thrust aside. 3. Leaderless Striving
The saying “Each one of us must choose his hero in whose footsteps he toils up to Olympus” no longer holds for us. 4. Individual Selection Of Ideals
We allow no ideals to be forced upon us. 5. Individual Worthiness
We are convinced that in each of us, if only we probe deep enough into the very heart of our being, there dwells something noble, something worthy of development. 6. Rejection Of Conformity
We no longer believe that there is a norm of human life to which we must all strive to conform. 7. Perfection Of Each Individual
We regard the perfection of the whole as depending on the unique perfection of each single individual. 8. Unique Contribution
We do not want to do what anyone else can do equally well. No, our contribution to the development of the world, however trifling, must be something which, by reason of the uniqueness of our nature, we alone can offer. 9. Creative Expression
Never have artists been less concerned about rules and norms in art than today. Each of them asserts his right to express, in the creations of his art, what is unique in him. 10. Dynamic Language
There are dramatists who write in dialect rather than conform to the standard diction which grammar demands. 11. Striving Towards Freedom
No better expression for these phenomena can be found than this, that they result from the individual’s striving towards freedom, developed to its highest pitch. 12. Independence
We do not want to be dependent in any respect, and where dependence must be, we tolerate it only on condition that it coincides with a vital interest of our individuality.
To purchase book see rest of post by clicking on title. Click here for FREE PDF download of Rudolf Steiner's original, unrevised Philosophy of Freedom translated by R. F. Alfred Hoernlé in 1916.
There is a lot of speculation in the media and elsewhere about the recent killing of Bin Laden by Navy Seals in Pakistan. Did it really happen? How much lattitude did the Seals have? Is or was it morally right? Most of the thinking on these questions is weak and reactive, and I want to explore this social phenomena in an effort to illuminate certain capacities of thinking, including ethical individualism, as this event can serve as an important lesson regarding thinking and Steiner's The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity.
Is there equal opportunity for the individual in America? The world used to think so, as America was the dream of (outer) freedom many in the world aspired too. Upward mobility is now greater in several other countries. Exposing how the rich have bribed our entire Democracy, Al Jazeera takes a hard look at the Koch Brothers, the vast poverty and inequality that the wealthiest among us have created for their own benefit, and the ugly reality that we don't have Democracy in America.
Several decades ago, a man by the name of Eric Berne engaged in an interesting experiment. He was a practicing psychiatrist, and thought it might be possible to take those experiences and points of view, and render them in a much more ordinary language than otherwise common to the discipline. As a result he wrote a book Games People Play, and eventually was born Transactional Analysis. This system of thought gave birth to the idea of three ego states (threefoldness?): Child; Adult; Parent; and, four life positions (fourfoldness?) I'm OK, your Ok; I'm not OK, your OK, I'm OK your not OK; and I'm not OK, your not OK.
Submitted by Tom Last on Wed, 04/27/2011 - 10:17pm.
I thought I should self-publish the original Hoerlne Philosophy of Freedom for those who want a hard copy. If i don't take a royalty fee I can sell it for a few dollars less than existing POF books. This cover is similar to the original.
I'll hang out for a while in case there are any questions on these works:
the redemption of hate was written after by impulse I dropped in on the Waldorf Critics' discussion list near the beginning of Holy Week. It was written Easter Morning ...
after some years of not paying attention to the hints of various folks, I recently bought a copy of Steiner's Anthroposophy: a fragment, and then following some examination of that book I decided to write my own introduction as a substitute for the existing ones, which I had found wanting ...
reading Prokofieff's bit on what Christian Rosencreutz means to Anthroposophy, in a recent Anthroposophy World Wide, I thought I'd stick my two-bits into that question ...
I think I announced this here before, but in case I didn't ... I created over 230 videos for YouTube in 2010, and wrote a new book ... here are the relevant links:
More people are discovering Rudolf Steiner's Philosophy Of Freedom than ever before. This past week 1300 visitors visited this website 1700 times to find out more about Rudolf Steiner's freedom philosophy. The site averages about 250 visits a day.
Friends,
Friends,
