&ldquoThe Philosophy Of Freedom&rdquo by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925)
Chapter 12 Moral Imagination Video 1 of 2

Free spirits act according to their impulses, that is, according to intuitions selected from their world of ideas by thinking.
Un-free spirits single out an intuition from their world of ideas according to 'past experiences'.
Before coming to a decision, un-free spirits 'remember' what someone else did or recommended be done in a similar situation or they remember what God has commanded be done in such a case,... and they act accordingly.
For free spirits these pre-conditions are not the only source of action.
They care little of what others have done, or what others recommend or dictate be done.
Free spirits make absolutely 'original' decisions.
Free spirits have 'purely ideal reasons' which lead them to select from the sum of their concepts just one in particular,... and then to translate it into action.
For un-free spirits, motives are present from the start in the form of 'mental pictures' in their consciousness.
When un-free spirits want to do something, they do it as they have seen it done, or as they have been
told to do it.
A Christian acts less according to the teachings than to the 'example' of the Savior.
Authority works best by giving specific examples.
Such as: ''Sweep the walk in front of the house!''
Such as: ''Pay this amount of taxes, at this tax office, on this date!''

Concrete Mental Picture
Moral laws are given in a 'general conceptual form' such as ''You shall do good to your neighbor!'' and ''You shall live in ways that ensure good health!''
Whenever the impulse for an action is present in a 'general conceptual form' then for each particular case the 'concrete mental picture' must first be found for the action.
The 'concrete mental picture' relates the moral principle to specific action.
For example,... your neighbors house burns down!
You select ''Do good to your neighbor'' as the moral principle. You translate this into the 'specific action' of volunteers rebuilding the house.
Neighbor's house burns down!
1. Ethical principle: Do good to neighbor
2. Concrete mental picture: Envision volunteers rebuilding the destroyed house.
For the free spirit, who is not compelled by example, nor by the fear of punishment to act as others do,... a translation of the general ethical principle into a specific mental picture is always necessary.

Moral Imagination
Human beings produce concrete mental pictures from the sum of their ideas by means of the 'imagination'.
Free spirits need 'moral imagination' in order to realize their ideas and be effective.
Moral imagination is the source of the free spirit's action.
Only people with moral imagination are, strictly speaking, morally productive.
Those who merely preach morality,... that is, people who spin out ethical rules without the ability to condense them into an idea of specific action,... are morally unproductive.
They are like 'critics' who can explain very well what a work of art ought to be like,... but who are themselves incapable of even the slightest creative effort.

Moral Technique
Moral imagination, in order to turn its idea into a reality, must set to work in a definite field.
Human action does not create objects of perception,... but 'transforms' already existing ones by giving them a new form.
To be able to transform something, according to a moral mental picture,... it is necessary to understand the underlying 'laws',... how it has worked up to now.
Further, it is necessary to discover the 'method' by which this lawfulness can be changed into a new one.
This part of effective moral activity depends on 'knowledge' of the world of phenomena with which one is involved.
This knowledge must be sought in a branch of 'science'.
The ability to transform the world without 'violating' the natural laws by which things are connected is 'moral technique'.
Effective moral action requires the 'faculty' of having
1. moral ideas
(moral intuition)
2. moral imagination
3. and the 'ability' of moral technique.
Moral technique can be learned in the same sense that any science is learned.
Out of imagination, the not-yet-existing actions of the future will originate.
Those without moral imagination may receive moral mental pictures from others... and skillfully work them into the actual world.
Conversely, people with moral imagination can lack 'technical skill', and must rely on others for realizing their ideas.

History Of Moral Ideas
Moral imagination and the capacity for having moral ideas can become subjects of study only 'after' they have been produced by the individual.
By then, they no longer regulate life, for they have already regulated it.
They must now be regarded as effective causes. The study of them is a 'natural history of moral ideas'.
Effective moral action requires:
1. Moral Intuition
2. Moral Imagination
3. Moral Technique

...to be continued on, Chapter 12, Moral Imagination, Video 2 of 2