Calendar of the Soul XL

SEELENKALENDER “Calendar of the Soul”—Rudolf Steiner’s 52 Verses for the Year ∇ Fortieth Week of the Year ∆ Below is Dr Steiner’s original verse followed by my translation into English. Und bin ich in den Geistestiefen, Erfüllt in meinen Seelengründen Aus Herzens Liebewelten Der Eigenheiten leerer Wahn Sich mit des Weltenwortes Feuerkraft. ∇∆ And in…

“Quid est veritas?” (4) Legibility, Intelligibility, Lógos

Being that can be understood is language. —Hans-Georg Gadamer (Truth and Method, 1960) In the last chapters we strove to understand the post-truth phenomenon, which we discovered to be a symptom of nihilism in one of its manifold expressions. We strove furthermore to establish the threefold identity of being, truth, and meaning. We discovered a…

Christmas, “Et incarnatus est…”

Christmas is the season of a miracle. The term “miracle” implies an event that the laws of nature cannot account for. In our time, it is often imagined that the laws of nature, as theoretically codified in by disciplines like physics, chemistry, astronomy, and biology, can account for everything in nature. We presume that everything…

Law & Love

Originally posted on The Lizard-press:
At no other time in recorded history has mankind possessed such power for general annihilation. Technological advancement enables a myriad human activities, including those of genocide & self-destruction. Naturally we must appreciate modern dentistry & spaceships as wonderful conveniences. Nevertheless, the destructive potential of technology dictates that this enterprise is a…

Calendar of the Soul XXXIX

SEELENKALENDER “Calendar of the Soul”—Rudolf Steiner’s 52 Verses for the Year ∇ Thirty-ninth Week of the Year ∆ Below is Dr Steiner’s original verse followed by my translation into English. An Geistesoffenbarung hingegeben Gewinne ich des Weltenwesens Licht. Gedankenkraft, sie wächst Sich klärend mir mich selbst zu geben, Und weckend löst sich mir Aus Denkermacht…

“Quid est veritas?” (3) Ignorance & Intelligibility

Nihil enim scitur nisi verum, quod cum entit convertitur (“Nothing is known except truth, which is the same as being.”) —Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologica) “What science cannot discover, mankind cannot know.” (1) —Bertrand Russell (Religion and Science) In the last chapter of this exploration, we suggested that post-truth is the same as post-meaning. In other…

“Quid est veritas?” (2) Scepticism, Nihilism, and Lógos

In the first part of this inquiry, we introduced the subject of truth (or lack thereof). We considered truth in respect to its etymological relation to “tree,” and explored the symbolic resonance between these two concepts. We concluded that, among myriad other connections that the resonance between “truth” and “tree” might disclose, that both of…

Calendar of the Soul XXXVIII

SEELENKALENDER “Calendar of the Soul”—Rudolf Steiner’s 52 Verses for the Year ∇ Thirty-eighth Week of the Year ∆ Below is Dr Steiner’s original verse followed by my translation into English. Ich fühle wie entzaubert Das Geisteskind im Seelenschoss; Es hat in Herzenshelligkeit Gezeugt das Heilige Weltenwort Der Hoffnung Himmelsfrucht, Die jubelnd wächst in Weltenfernen Aus…

“Quid est veritas?” (1) Introduction and Mythos

A dismissal of truth appears to be the order of the day. In 2016, for example, the illustrious Oxford English Dictionary selected “post-truth” as its word-of-the-year. The OED’s choice expresses the prevailing spirit of the time, since the former’s descriptivist approach entails that its selections are meant to reflect, and not to dictate, language usage. Since language is the…

Calendar of the Soul XXXVII

SEELENKALENDER “Calendar of the Soul”—Rudolf Steiner’s 52 Verses for the Year ∇ Thirty-seventh Week of the Year ∆ Below is Dr Steiner’s original verse followed by my translation into English. Zu tragen Geisteslicht in Weltenwinternacht Erstrebet selig meines Herzens Trieb, Daß leuchtend Seelenkeime In Weltengründen wurzeln, Und Gotteswort im Sinnesdunkel Verklärend alles Sein durchtönt. ∇∆…

Where do laps go when people stand up?

Where do laps go when people stand up? The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein famously concluded the Tractatus Logico Philosophicus with the enigmatic phrase “Whereover a man cannot speak, thereover must he remain silent.” It is well-known that Wittgenstein later denounced the tenets of his own early work, of which the Tractatus was its culmination. Nevertheless, through…

Enchantment and Liberation: Concerning Colours and the Evolution of Consciousness

“The foal that kicked its mother” is the colourful manner, according to Diogenes Laërtius testimony in Lives of the Philosophers, in which Plato once charaterised his former student following the latter’s departure from the Academy and subsequent founding of his own school, the Lyceum. Diogenes’ testimony is almost certainly false. Nevertheless, the history of Western…

Calendar of the Soul XXXVI

SEELENKALENDER “Calendar of the Soul”—Rudolf Steiner’s 52 Verses for the Year ∇ Thirty-sixth Week of the Year ∆ Below is Dr Steiner’s original verse followed by my translation into English. In meines Wesens Tiefen spricht Zur Offenbarung drängend Geheimnisvoll das Weltenwort: Erfülle deiner Arbeit Ziele Mit meinem Geisteslichte, Zu opfern dich durch mich. ∇∆ In…