Rudolf Steiner Audio CW 206: Human Beings as Spiritual Being: Lecture 4: How modern science developed out of Scholasticism (Dornach, 5 August 1921) by Rudolf Steiner
Feb 25, 2026
A tour through the birth of modern science from medieval scholastic thought to 19th century materialism. Traces how intellectual habits shifted from supersensible wisdom to strict sensory investigation. Highlights turning points like the Renaissance and 1859 that reshaped methods across disciplines. Questions how sensory study relates to spiritual reality.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Intellectualism Emerged From Lost Supersensible Vision
- Modern intellectualism grew from the drying up of ancient supersensible perception into purely conceptual thought.
- Rudolf Steiner traces this shift from Plato's living vision to Aristotle's purely intellectual approach that preserved memory but not lived supersensible experience.
Scholasticism Mastered Concepts While Clericalizing Revelation
- Medieval scholasticism perfected techniques of conceptual thinking while keeping supersensible truths confined to Church dogma.
- Thinkers like Thomas Aquinas used disciplined concept-formation but accepted revelation as separate, limiting intellectual inquiry into the supersensible.
Modern Science Is Scholastic Thinking Turned Outward
- Modern science arose when the intellect, trained by scholastic techniques, turned outward to study sensory phenomena.
- Steiner links the shift after Copernicus and Galileo to a habit from Christian dogma: avoid supersensible inquiry and focus on the senses.
