The great virtue of philosophy is that it teaches not what to think, but how to think. It is the study of the principles underlying conduct, thought and knowledge. The reason philosophy is avoided today is because it is considered too abstract and disconnected to real life.

Rudolf Steiner lost all interest in abstract philosophy disconnected from experience, but found an enthusiasm for a philosophy that was based on inner experience. Philosophy based on experience becomes a description of that human experience which the reader can discover within themselves through introspective observation. The Philosophy of Freedom comes alive when understood as something experienced or as an experience the reader seeks.

POF 3-9 [0] What is impossible with Nature --creating before knowing-- we achieve with thinking. If we wanted to wait with thinking until we already knew it, then we would never come to it. We must resolutely think onward, so that afterwords by means of observation of what we ourselves have done, we come to knowledge of it.

example of relating to the above quote as experience: I have observed that when I observe a past thought I “know” the thought already. This is different than a flash of intuition which comes with an immediate knowing, but also afterward I gain more knowledge about it and how it affects my other knowledge after it is created. Creating comes first followed by knowing.

How do you relate 3.9 to your experience?