Steinermentary - Pseudo-Scientific Mystical Twaddle

Pseudo-Scientific Mystical Twaddle

Rudolf Steiner was a special character. A man who created a whole new philosophy (borrowed heavily from others, but still), and founded a movement that has infiltrated itself into many parts of society, including education, social care, agriculture and finance.

We see him being heavily quoted on social media, heralded as a mystic and guru, as someone who saw the inner workings of the universe, and wrote and spoke about it a century ago.

If you look through our research, you’ll see that Steiner’s beliefs - beliefs which are still a fundamental part of Anthroposophy - should raise more than a few eyebrows. Notions like vaccinations can negatively impact your reincarnation, demons live in electricity and can possess children, bullying is due to karma, reincarnation happens through the races (from black to white, if you're good - the opposite, if you're bad), some children are actual demons in human form, and angels from the seventh realm use Steiner Waldorf Schools to save humanity.

We’ve unpacked all of this over the years, but that’s not even the half of it. Steiner’s views of the universe around him was deeply flawed in practically every respect, and we thought we’d share with you a handful of examples to illustrate this point, using Rudolf Steiner’s own words.

Please bear in mind this is by no means an exhaustive list.

Hold on to your hats - it’s going to be a wild ride.

I. THE ATOMIC REALM

Atoms Don’t Exist

“there is the material science of the outer world. It has found its culmination, its goal, in present-day natural science, which sees the world as built up out of atoms. These atoms, however, are pure fantasy” [1]

“they are conjectures, inventions of the mind” [2]

“nobody has ever seen these molecules and atoms; they are hypothetical — in a certain sense the hypothesis of their existence is justified, as long as we keep in mind that it is only a hypothesis” [3]

“the whole issue is based on illusion. To imaginative cognition atoms are revealed as bubbles and the reality is where the empty space is supposed to be. Atoms are blown up bubbles. In other words, in contrast to what surrounds them they are nothing. You know that where bubbles are seen in soda-water there is no water. Atoms are bubbles in that sense” [4]

Not only are atoms made up nonsense, but searching for them is the gateway to finding Ahriman - one of two devils in Anthroposophical beliefs:

“if a man who allows himself to be thus deluded were to go out into the world where he looks for the atoms, he would find Ahriman and his beings.” [5]

“The whole system of atoms consists of ahrimanic substantiality. As you see this is a considerable metamorphosis of the ideas entertained by those who theorize about matter. Where in space they see something material we see the presence of Ahriman.” [4]

Now to be fair, no one can actually see an atom, so for all we know, maybe they don’t exist and it could just be gnomes holding matter together. Speaking of gnomes…

II. MYTHICAL CREATURES

Gnomes Do Exist

“the gnomes are extraordinarily clever, intelligent beings. […] gnomes have a consciousness of the utmost clarity. The lower creatures have no bony skeleton, no bony support; the gnomes bind together what works as the force of gravity and make their bodies from this volatile, invisible force”

“Pay heed like a goblin. And goblins are in fact the gnomes. So, if one wishes to make someone attentive, one says to him: Pay heed like a gnome. A gnome is really an attentive being. If one could place a gnome as an object lesson on a front desk in every school classroom, where all could see it, it would be a splendid example for the children to imitate.”

“the human body forms a hindrance to our perceiving such folk as these. The moment this hindrance is removed, these beings are there, just as are the other beings of nature for ordinary vision. Anyone who comes so far as to experience in full consciousness his dreams on falling asleep is well acquainted with these gnomes.” [6]

Contrary to atoms, just because no one has ever seen an actual gnome (without special skill and know-how) doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

But what about something people from his time could more quantifiably measure and witness? Something like Biology…

III. BIOLOGY

“It Turns Out, You Don't Need One!”

Maybe the writers of the comedy animated feature “Monsters vs. Aliens” were onto something, when it was revealed B.O.B., a gelatinous being, didn't have a brain, because here's what Steiner had to say about that particular organ...

“the brain and nerve system have nothing at all to do with actual cognition; they are only the expression of cognition in the physical organism” [7]

Such a statement might work in a fantasy environment, but as a basis for reliable knowledge, maybe not so much.

What about the heart and circulatory system?

Don’t Pump it Up

“As you know, our outer science makes things easy for itself in regard to the heart. It sees the heart as a pump that pumps the blood through the body. Now there is nothing more absurd than believing this, for the heart has nothing to do with pumping the blood. The blood is set in motion by the full agility of the astral body and the I, and the heart’s movement is only the reflex in response to that movement. The blood moves autonomously, on its own, and the heart only expresses the effects of the movement caused by these forces. The heart in fact is only the organ that expresses the movement of the blood; in itself it has no active role in the movement of the blood.” [8]

“The human bloodstream is concentrated in the heart so that we can sense it subconsciously; the heart is indeed a sense organ for perceiving the blood’s movement, not a pump as physicists claim; the coursing of the blood is brought about by our spirituality and vitality.” [9]

“The heart is not a pump, however, but only reflects what goes on in the body: the heart beats faster when the blood circulates faster.” [10]

Evolution is a Precipitate

Rudolf Steiner has an interesting view of evolution when it comes to humanity, which we covered in an earlier article, but his knowledge, unsurprisingly, extended into the animal kingdom. Here he is, explaining how higher animals came to exist:

“At a particular stage in their earthly development, human beings, to develop further, needed to rid their nature, which then was much different than it is now, of the higher animals. We can perhaps comprehend this cleansing if we imagine how, in a mixture in which something is dissolved, the dissolved substance precipitates and falls. In the same way, human beings in an earlier stage of development were one with the animal world, and then the animal world precipitated out.” [11]

And as for the importance of humanity to other forms of life on Earth? It's quite simple really: “We must be quite clear that not only the lower animal forms, but also the plant and mineral world would have petrified long ago and ceased development were there no human beings on the Earth.” [11]

Makes one wonder how life on Earth managed during the well over 4 billions years when humanity didn't even exist!

Alright then. Steiner’s “knowledge” sure is in conflict with easily observable biological functions, and established facts.

Is his knowledge of History any better?

IV. HISTORY

Atlantis and the Evolution of Mankind

To be frank, reading through some of Steiner’s work feels more like an journey into fantasy than actual history. For instance, present-day humans evolved from Atlanteans…

““mankind” is only the product of the so-called fifth root-race. This was preceded by another human race, the fourth root-race, which lived on a continent that should be thought of as lying between present-day Europe and America. This continent was Atlantis. […]. The ancient Atlantean did not possess a developed intellect and mind, but he was equipped with fine somnambulistic-clairvoyant forces. […]. He could understand the language of Nature and could hear God speak to him in the murmuring waves; he could understand the rolling thunder, the rustling forest, the delicate aromas of the flowers; he could understand this language of Nature and was in the whole of Nature.” [12]

So Steiner can't be said to be a reliable authority on History. How does he fare with a science like Geology?

V. GEOLOGY

Floating Islands

“an island like Great Britain swims in the sea and is held fast by the forces of the stars.” [13]

Ah… ok.

A Sensitive Onion

At least he concurs that our planet is made up of layers…

Steiner stated in 1906 that:

“The earth consists of a series of layers not totally separated from one another, like the skins of an onion” [14]

So far so good. However, when you get to the 6th layer, you’ll find that it:

“is made essentially of feeling and will. It is sensitive to pain and would cry out if stepped on. It consists entirely of passion” [14]

Refined and Altered Over Time

By 1909, Steiner had refined his vision for the Earth’s core:

“The earth is the arena of man's existence. To the eye of spirit this earth is revealed as a combination of different layers or strata. The outermost stratum is called the “Mineral Earth” or “Mineral Stratum” […]

“Then begins the “Fluidic Earth”[…] This second stratum is, as it were, endowed with inner life; and only because the solid, mineral stratum is spread over it are the inner forces of this second stratum held together.

“A third stratum is the “Vapor Earth”. […] the substance itself is imbued with inner forces, comparable only with the passions, the inner urges and impulses of man. […]

“The fourth or “Form Stratum” is so designated because it contains the material and the forces of what are encountered in the mineral part of the earth as entities cast into form.

“And the characteristic of the fifth stratum, or “Fertility Earth” is that even as material it teems with infinite fertility. If you were to get hold of part of this stratum it would perpetually be sending forth new impulses, new sproutings; rampant fertility is the intrinsic quality of this stratum.

“Then we come to the sixth stratum, the “Fire Earth”, containing as “substances” within it, forces that can bring about terrible havoc and destruction. It is actually into these forces that the primordial Fire has been banished.

“In and from this stratum the realm of Ahriman operates”. [15]

Not quite what we’re taught in traditional geology classes….

There are inconsistencies over the years though: 1906, he was clear that the 6th layer was the passionate one, and the 3rd “destroys sensations” [14]. Three years later, the 3rd was passionate and the 6th contained forces that “can bring about terrible havoc and destruction” [15]. No mention in 1909 of the 7th, 8th and 9th layers either.

Perhaps the universe alters its makeup in line with Steiner’s imagination, and speaking of imagination…

Where There's a Will, There's a Rotation

“In very ancient times the earth did not revolve around its axis; this axial rotation arose in the course of time. Whilst earth man was still in a different condition, this movement did not as yet exist. The first stimulus to movement did not occur in the earth but in man. The human ego was given this stimulus to turn by the spirits to whom it is subject, and the human ego actually took the earth with it and made it revolve round it. The revolution of the earth is the result of the ego rhythm. And this is true, however astonishing it sounds.” [16]

So not only is humanity responsible for creating all higher animals, and keeping plants and minerals from petrifying, but without us, the planet wouldn't even rotate on its axis!

Looks like geology’s a lost cause. What about Physics and Chemistry. Well, according to Steiner, physical laws don’t affect the universe, but are merely confined to the Earth itself…

VI. PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY

Earthbound Laws of Physics and Chemistry

“Science in its present form has meaning only for the Earth, for physical matter in the real sense exists only on the Earth.” [17]

You might argue that Steiner was referring to our physical existence and that our experience will not be bound by physical laws once our spirit is released, however,

“materialistic instinct makes them want to detect physical processes in the Sun. But there is nothing physical in the Sun. […] In the Sun there is nothing like natural law, for it is a world of purest spirit. Materialists would like to insist that the Sun too is under the sway of natural law, but it is not so.” [17]

Planetary Evolution

Planets don’t remain planets according to Steiner, and when change happens, every being on them evolve as well:

“When a planet develops into a fixed star the beings who are embodied on it also go higher”.

And when that happens to our Earth,

"the human being will be similar to the sublime beings who now live on the sun […] And then what does a sun become? When a sun has attained maturity a zodiac forms. […] The sun that shines down on us now will someday shine down as the stars of a new zodiac. The spirit beings of this new zodiac will be creative souls, creative beings at the highest stage of development. If we look at human development we also see organs that are standing at the end of their development and are withering, and others like the heart will be a voluntary muscle in future, and the larynx will creatively speak out human descendants with the word. This will begin when the earth planet becomes a fixed star and then a zodiac.” [18]

VII. ASTRONOMY

Looks like our knowledge of cosmology is under threat from Steiner’s spiritual certainty… So let’s take a gander among the stars through Astronomy before we start producing offsprings with our larynx…

Inhabited Moon

First of all, did you know the moon was inhabited?

“When we observe the astral plane we come upon certain beings there — only one kind among many — […] they are related, belong, to the same sort of beings as inhabit our present moon, having even a certain physical existence on the moon. One who is able to approach these things clairvoyantly knows that on their scene of action, the moon, these are beings in a certain respect similar to man, but that they are dwarves in comparison, scarcely reaching the height of a six or seven year old child. Upon the moon, however, a particular opportunity is offered them for their activity. The physical conditions are quite different there, the atmosphere for instance is quite different and in consequence when these beings withdraw, so to speak, to their habitat they acquire the faculty of a tremendous roaring”. [19]

The Moon’s Gift to Earth

It turns out that the Earth owes its gravity and magnetism to its faithful satellite:

“during the Earth-metamorphosis the moon separates off, becomes a subsidiary planet, leaving behind for the Earth the inner-earth-forces. The forces of gravity, for instance, are essentially forces which, in a physical connection, have remained behind from the Moon. The Earth would never have developed the forces of gravity had not the residue of what was contained in old Moon been left behind […] The present moon […] left behind in the earth what, speaking in the widest sense, may be called earth-magnetism. The forces of the earth, namely the earthly forces of gravity, the activities described as the effects of weight, these have remained over from the moon.” [20]

Mars’ Gift to Earth

The Moon wasn’t the only astral body to gift something to Earth. Mars did so as well:

“[Blood] could not have been formed at all if the Earth, in its evolutionary course, had not come together with another planet, namely, with Mars. Before this contact of the Earth with Mars, the Earth had no iron; there was no iron in the blood; the blood upon which the human being is dependent today, did not exist. In the first half of Earth existence, the influence of the planet Mars is the ruling factor” [21]

Boneless Life on Mars

NASA should stop sending robots to Mars as we already know not only that life exists there, but what kind of life is present, all thanks to Rudolf Steiner:

“You must remember that the constitution of Mars is quite different from that of the earth. As I said, Mars is not densely solid in the sense in which today the earth is solid, But I described to you quite recently how the earth too was once in a condition when mineral, solid matter took shape for the first time, how there were then gigantic animals which, however, had as yet no solid bones. Mars today is in a condition similar to that of the earth in that earlier epoch and therefore also has upon it those living beings, those animal beings which the earth had upon it at that time. And “human beings” on Mars are as they were on the earth at that time — still without bones.” [22]

“I Don't Think You're Ready For This Jelly”

Those boneless animals may well have a hard time walking on Mars though, because its surface isn't as it appears, as Rudolf Steiner explained in the same lecture:

“Mars consists primarily of a more or less fluid mass, not as fluid as our water but, shall we say, more like the consistency of jelly, or something of that kind. There are also dense components, but they are not as densely solid as those of our earth. Their consistency would be more comparable to that of the antlers or horns of our animals, which form out of the general mass and dissolve back into it again.” [22]

“Should've Put a Ring on It”

Did you know that those beautiful photos we have of Saturn are nothing but an optical illusion? Allow Steiner to explain:

“the ring formations of Saturn also arise […], because with each Saturn we have to do with a neutral space of warmth, a stratum of soul's warmth, and with one of physically cognisable able warmth. Thus the illusion arises, when one observes those different strata through illuminated space; it is as if one saw a globe of gas with a sort of ring of dust around it; it is but an optical delusion, for Saturn is to-day but a body made of the substance of warmth.” [23]

The Sun’s an Empty Ball

That big ball of fire in the sky that keeps our planet warm, isn't at all what you think it is...

“The sun is very different from what the physicists of today imagine. They would be very astonished if they were to approach it: they would not find fiery gas but they would find something that causes any earthly substance to be sucked in and disappear. The sun is an empty space that exerts suction. It is not a globe of gas. It resembles a pearl in the universe. […] The fine etheric structures of the universe, which are almost spiritual, are continuously being sucked in by the sun as nourishment” [24]

Humans: Star Children - Literally

Do you remember Carl Sagan famously stating that “we're made of star stuff”, since all complex matter in the universe is created inside stars?

Well, Steiner was way ahead of him, and in fact went much further…

“The human being, inasmuch as he comes down from cosmic spiritual spaces into an earthly life, comes always from a certain star. We can trace the very direction of it, and it is not unreal — on the contrary, it is most exact, to say: — ‘The human being has his star.’” [25]

Symbols to the Spirit World

But that's not all: you see, stars are not actually billions of other distant suns, most with exo-planets orbiting around them. Oh no. Astronomy has got it all wrong...

“What we are accustomed to call “stars” in the external, physical sense are no more than the outer sign and symbol of spiritual worlds which look down upon us and take their share and part in all the deeds of the evolution of mankind.” [26]

If you’ve read this far and are hungry for more, then let’s take a look into the far future and gaze upon the fate of humanity in the 8th millennium…

VIII. PRECOGNITION

Eloi and Morlocks

Rudolf Steiner knew there will come a time (maybe around 802,701 AD ?) when humanity will have evolved into two distinct species…

“We now stand in the Fifth Root Race. The Sixth Race will see quite another race, noble and beautiful, in contrast to the thrown off, decadence which will be a race of men, horribly ugly, animal-like, sensual, vicious, far more horror-provoking than our present humanity, because these will go on developing downwards.” [27]

This is remarkably similar to H. G. Wells’ depiction of the future in his 1895 novel, “The Time Machine”… Maybe Steiner drew inspiration from that famous sci-fi novel? Except although the Eloi may have looked “noble and beautiful”, they were actually food for the “horror-provoking” Morlocks.

“Klaatu Barada Nikto”

No, it won’t be a robot that comes from the stars to guide humans towards a better future, as shown in the 1951 classic sci-fi movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. However, if humanity refuses to evolve beyond its materialistic self, as it reaches the 8th Millennium AD, it will have to deal with Vulcans (among others). Did Gene Roddenberry steal that idea for his Star Trek?

“it may appear comparatively harmless to people when they think only those automatic, lifeless thoughts [...] But imagine that people were to continue thinking in this way, unfolding nothing but such thoughts until the eighth millennium when moon existence will once more unite with the life of the earth. What would come about then? The beings I have spoken about will descend gradually to the earth. Vulcan beings, Vulcan supermen, Venus supermen, Mercury supermen, sun supermen, and so on will unite themselves with earth existence. Yet, if human beings persist in their opposition to them, this earth existence will pass over into chaos in the course of the next few thousand years. […] The fullness of human potential, however, will not be included in this intellect and people will have no relationship to the beings who wish graciously to come down to them into earthly life.” [28]

IX. DIET

You Are What You Eat

But all is not lost. You see, one main reason humanity is so materialistic, is because we eat too many potatoes. Move over vegans, we need to save our species.

“What has happened is that really deep and inward thinking began to wane in Europe from the moment the potato became an important constituent of food. […] When a man feeds on potatoes, the middle part of his head is used solely for the purpose of digesting them. The result is that having shut himself off from the universe around, he no longer acknowledges its existence and declares: All this talk about spirituality streaming down from the universe is so much twaddle! ... And so it may be said that too much potato food has helped to drive the modern age into materialism.” [29]

X. AN ANTHROPOSOPHICAL PEDAGOGY

Learning What Cannot Be Learned, Seeing What Cannot Be Seen

We realise that this is a lot to take in. Your view of the world must be completely shattered in order to see the universe as Steiner does. But rest assured:

“These things can be known. They cannot become known by the means employed in modern science for acquiring knowledge; nevertheless it is possible to know these things” [22]

And without this knowledge, your skills as an educator are questionable:

“I have always said that human beings with their soul life are the stage upon which world events play. [...] we cannot find an equivalent in the remainder of nature for what occurs in human beings. The remainder of nature, which is at the same time a cosmic process, enters the human being. The human soul is a stage upon which not simply a human, but a cosmic process plays out. Today, that is difficult for many people to understand. However, unless you penetrate such views, it is impossible to be a good teacher.” [11]

This can only be done through the deep spiritual study of Anthroposophy, of course, but is any of this actually taught to children in Steiner-Waldorf schools?

Maybe Rudolf Steiner can answer this:

“we need to create a mood, namely, that the teacher has something to say that the children should neither judge nor discuss. […] An actual discussion lowers the content. [...]

“The older students often mentioned that we emphasize that the Waldorf School is not to be an anthroposophical school. That is one of the questions we need to handle very seriously. You need to make the children aware that they are receiving the objective truth, and if this occasionally appears anthroposophical, it is not anthroposophy that is at fault. Things are that way because anthroposophy has something to say about objective truth. It is the material that causes what is said to be anthroposophical. We certainly may not go to the other extreme, where people would say that anthroposophy may not be brought into the school. Anthroposophy will be in the school when it is objectively justified, that is, when it is called for by the material itself.” (January 1923) [13]

“we have to remember that an institution like the Independent Waldorf School with its objectively anthroposophical character, has goals that, of course, coincide with anthroposophical desires. At the moment, though, if that connection were made official, people could break the Waldorf School’s neck.” (February 1924) [13]

———

Rudolf Steiner wasn’t a mystic. He wasn’t a guru. He wasn’t supremely gifted with visions of other worlds and other realms. Everything he stated with absolute certainty came out of his fertile imagination, and in blatant contradiction with scientific findings (even those of his day). You must agree by now that it’s all clearly made up, to the delectation of his myriad of followers, both contemporary to him, and current.

All his beliefs (and this is but a tiny selection of them) are baked into Anthroposophy - the philosophy from which biodynamics, Triodos banks, Camphill Communities and Steiner Waldorf Schools derived from.

Do we really need such pseudoscientific gibberish in the 21st Century?

Or maybe it makes perfect sense, and we only see it as “twaddle” because we’ve been eating too many potatoes!