Agriculture Course: The Birth of the Biodynamic Method (CW 327) (Classic Translations) - Softcover

Rudolf Steiner

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1855841487 ISBN 13: 9781855841482

Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press, 2004

Synopsis

8 lectures, Koberwitz, June 7-20, 1924 (CW 327)

When Rudolf Steiner gave these lectures eighty years ago, industrial farming was on the rise and organic methods were being replaced in the name of science, efficiency, and technology. With the widespread alarm over food quality in recent years, and with the growth of the organic movement and its mainstream acceptance, perceptions are changing. The qualitative aspect of food is on the agenda again, and in this context Steiner’s only course of lectures on agriculture is critical to the current debate.

With these talks, Steiner created and launched “biodynamic” farming―a form of agriculture that has come to be regarded as the best organically produced food. However, the agriculture Steiner speaks of here is much more than organic―it involves working with the cosmos, with the earth, and with spiritual beings. To facilitate this, Steiner prescribes specific “preparations” for the soil, as well as other distinct methods born from his profound understanding of the material and spiritual worlds. He presents a comprehensive picture of the complex dynamic relationships at work in nature and gives basic indications of the practical measures needed to bring them into full play.

These lectures are reprinted here in the “classic” translation made by Rudolf Steiner's English interpreter, George Adams. This edition also features a preface by Steiner's colleague the medical doctor Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, as well as eight color plates.

This is the course that began the biodynamic movement. Rudolf Steiner's Agriculture Course is the essential work for anyone wanting to understand and use Steiner's methods of food production.

This book is a translation from German of Geisteswissenschaftliche Grundlagen zum Gedeihen der Landwirtschaft. Landwirtschaftlicher Kursus (GA 327).

About this title

About the Authors

Rudolf Steiner (b. Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner, 1861–1925) was born in the small village of Kraljevec, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now in Croatia), where he grew up. As a young man, he lived in Weimar and Berlin, where he became a well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, known especially for his work with Goethe’s scientific writings. Steiner termed his spiritual philosophy anthroposophy, meaning “wisdom of the human being.” As an exceptionally developed seer, he based his work on direct knowledge and perception of spiritual dimensions. He initiated a modern, universal “spiritual science” that is accessible to anyone willing to exercise clear and unbiased thinking. From his spiritual investigations, Steiner provided suggestions for the renewal of numerous activities, including education (general and for special needs), agriculture, medicine, economics, architecture, science, philosophy, Christianity, and the arts. There are currently thousands of schools, clinics, farms, and initiatives in other fields that involve practical work based on the principles Steiner developed. His many published works feature his research into the spiritual nature of human beings, the evolution of the world and humanity, and methods for personal development. He wrote some thirty books and delivered more than six thousand lectures throughout much of Europe. In 1924, Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches around the world.

Dr. Ehrenfried E. Pfeiffer (1899–1961) was born in Munich. He worked closely with Rudolf Steiner to test and document many of the effects of biodynamic practices. Pfeiffer visited the U.S. several times during the 1930s, and was awarded a doctorate for his groundbreaking theory of Sensitive Crystallization Processes as a blood test for detecting cancer. In 1940, he immigrated to the U.S., where he pioneered biodynamic agriculture and helped establish the Biodynamic Farming & Gardening Association. He died in Spring Valley, New York.

George Adams (1894–1963) was a close student of Rudolf Steiner, and translated many of his lectures given to English-speaking audiences. Beginning in 1935, Olive Whicher worked with George Adams in their research into mathematics and physics until his death in 1963. He translated and published numerous books, lectures, and articles.

Edition details

• Publisher: Rudolf Steiner Press
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1855841487
• ISBN 13: 9781855841482
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176