Human Questions and Cosmic Answers

13 lectures, Dornach, Switzerland, June 24 – July 22, 1922 (CW 213)

“In the case of a solar eclipse, the evil that has spread over the earth can be carried out into the cosmos to wreak more havoc there, whereas in the case of a lunar eclipse, people who absolutely want to be possessed by evil thoughts can receive them from the cosmos.” ― Rudolf Steiner

In this first full translation of Human Questions and Cosmic Answers, Rudolf Steiner implores his listeners to recognize the connections between the material and spiritual worlds. Eclipses of the Sun and Moon, for example, are “forces at work in the universe, just like those we study today in the clinic or in the chemistry or physics laboratory.”

Even ordinary thinking can strongly affect our outer world. Materialistic thinking, he says, can literally atomize our surroundings: “If all human beings start to think that everything has to be explained in terms of atoms...then the earth will actually turn into atoms...these false ideas create false realities.” Steiner speaks of the “world of will” as three-dimensional, the “world of feeling” as two-dimensional, and the “world of thinking” as one-dimensional. The “I” itself is without dimension. Only inner, living thinking can grasp the spiritual mental realm.

Steiner also discusses significant cultural figures, including Friedrich Nietzsche, Herman Grimm, and Julian the Apostate. He also introduces other topics, such as the effect of planetary forces on humans; the healing effects of metals and other substances; the revitalization of thinking through meditation and concentration; the effects of separating science, art, and religion; and the necessary transition from philosophy to anthroposophy.

This volume is a translation from German of Menschenfragen und Weltenantworten (GA 213).

Rudolf 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. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he began to develop his early philosophical principles into an approach to systematic research into psychological and spiritual phenomena. Formally beginning his spiritual teaching career under the auspices of the Theosophical Society, Steiner came to use the term Anthroposophy (and spiritual science) for his philosophy, spiritual research, and findings. The influence of Steiner's multifaceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine, various therapies, philosophy, religious renewal, Waldorf education, education for special needs, threefold economics, biodynamic agriculture, Goethean science, architecture, and the arts of drama, speech, and eurythmy. In 1924, Rudolf Steiner founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches throughout the world. He died in Dornach, Switzerland.