Anthroposophy

Anthroposophy, also called spiritual science by its founder, Rudolf Steiner (or, as some opponents claim, a religion), sprung from the Theosophy movement. The word is derived from the Greek words meaning man-wisdom. Anthroposophy is not to be confused with Anthropology, the scientific study of humankind.

Critiques of Anthroposophy

Anthroposophy is controversial. Critics have termed it a cult with similarities to New Age movements. Supporters claim that in that case, it is one that strongly emphasizes individual freedom. Still, some critics maintain that anthroposophists tend to elevate Steiner's personal opinions, many of which are at odds with views generally held in orthodox religions, current science and the humanities, 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 his students. They point out that Steiner frequently asked his students to test everything he said, and on many occasions even begged them not to take anything he said on faith or authority.

Related Topics:
Cult - New Age - Orthodox

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Another line of criticism asserts that some anthroposophists seem to distance their public activities from the possible inference that Anthroposophy is based on esoteric religious elements, tending to present themselves to the public as a non-sectarian academic philosophy. A difficulty in evaluating this criticism is that it arguably contains hidden bias because it ignores or begs a question anthroposophy sought to raise and answer: 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, and therefore finds a contradiction between a claim of non-sectarianism and a foundation in non-physical or spiritual experience. The critics consider spiritual experience to be "religious" rather than cognitive. Such critics then read any 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.

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