Anthroposophy: Encyclopedia II - Anthroposophy - Critiques of Anthroposophy

Anthroposophy - Critiques of Anthroposophy

Anthroposophy's combination of clearly thought-through understanding with spiritual content is novel and thus can be controversial. Though spiritually based, it is an approach that strongly emphasizes individual freedom. Still, some critics maintain that some anthroposophists tend to elevate Steiner's personal opinions to the level of absolute truths. Supporters claim that if there is a degree of truth to this criticism, most of the blame belongs not to Steiner, but to a few of his students. They point out that Steiner frequently asked that everything he said be tested by sound reason, and not to be taken on faith or authority.

A fundamental question underlying the modern response to 'spiritual science' is: Is it possible for one's thinking to be both scientific and spiritually cognitive at once? Anthroposophy claims that it is possible. The aforementioned criticism, on the other hand, assumes that it is not. The critics consider spiritual experience to be "religious" rather than cognitive. Religion generally implies a faith- or revelation-based system of ideas, which anthroposophy is not. Some critics read any perceived reticence on the part of anthroposophists about their spiritual experiences and ideas as an effort to "hide" a spiritual basis for their various public activities, such as Waldorf schools. It should be noted that a recent court case (in 2005, in the Federal Court of California) found that there was not a single piece of court-admissible evidence that Anthroposophy was in any sense a religion.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Critiques of Anthroposophy", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki