The Human Being as Spiritual Being Evolving through the Course of History

'If we lived only in worlds of spirit, as we do between death and a new birth, we would never be able to acquire freedom there. It is something we can only achieve by our efforts within the physical world…' – Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Steiner's lucid account of our current phase of evolution focuses on the threefold human being and the significance of incarnation on Earth. In a nuanced presentation, he supports the modern scientific outlook but highlights the urgent need to broaden it, emphasizing the importance of balance in thinking, feeling and will. Withdrawing into abstract intellectualism while letting feeling and will run amok, leads to unconscious egotism and, ultimately, the War of All Against All. In place of nebulous mysticism or narrow materialism, Steiner calls on us to bring our thoughts, feelings and actions under conscious self-control so that – for our benefit and society as a whole – we can live our lives with clarity, far-sightedness and purpose. Intrinsic to this reassessment of ourselves and our place in the universe is a recognition of death as a gateway to continuing existence. Only by acknowledging our journey into the afterlife and our return to earth (reincarnation) will we take charge of a truly human evolution. This previously-unpublished course of lectures ­– released in tandem with the twin course in CW 205 – features an introduction by Matthew Barton, notes and an index. Eleven lectures, Dornach; July–Aug. 1921, GA 206