by Hermann Poppelbaum, published in Journal for Anthroposophy, Spring, 1970, #11.
The remarkable success that our century has witnessed in all fields of science, theoretical and applied, has often betrayed us into optimistic dreams of progress. Recently, however, the use of the atom bomb, deadly pesticides, etc., has raised such moral questions that many of those who previously believed in an automatic improvement of culture through science have been seized by a profound scepticism and now put their hopes in a return to a pre-scientific past. Whether we share such hopes or not, we must admit that the reputation of science, even of human knowledge itself, is at stake. We have come to a crisis of confidence in scientific pursuits.
Even those who do not doubt must realize that the road forward will be blocked if human knowledge is curtailed and hemmed in as it has been in recent centuries. Unfortunately, they do not see how one could try to extend its limits without inviting disaster. Only a small minority venture to speak of an extension of knowledge beyond its traditional limits. They regard this possibility as having been opened up by Rudolf Steiner in the development of Spiritual Science or Anthroposophy and they are therefore necessarily interested in finding what justification there is for the claim of Anthroposophy to be a legitimate and safe extension of knowledge into the realm of supersensible facts. They realize, of course, that any description of alleged supersensible facts must meet the rigorous standards for knowledge that have been set up for our age. This leads at once to the problem of proof.
The mere claim that anyone has “experienced” supersensible facts cannot satisfy a conscientious seeker. Are not, he will say, hallucinations experienced, too? What guarantee is there that the so-called spiritual investigator is not under a constant illusion that has grown in him into an elaborate and coherent system? Nor can the intensity with which a supersensible impression “comes” be called upon as a support. It speaks against rather than in favor of its validity, since everybody knows that the danger with all illusions is that they are so obviously “there” — for those who have them.
Can, then, supersensible facts be proven? For the sake of fairness to the seeker this question must find a straightforward answer.
The remarkable success that our century has witnessed in all fields of science, theoretical and applied, has often betrayed us into optimistic dreams of progress. Recently, however, the use of the atom bomb, deadly pesticides, etc., has raised such moral questions that many of those who previously believed in an automatic improvement of culture through science have been seized by a profound scepticism and now put their hopes in a return to a pre-scientific past. Whether we share such hopes or not, we must admit that the reputation of science, even of human knowledge itself, is at stake. We have come to a crisis of confidence in scientific pursuits.
Even those who do not doubt must realize that the road forward will be blocked if human knowledge is curtailed and hemmed in as it has been in recent centuries. Unfortunately, they do not see how one could try to extend its limits without inviting disaster. Only a small minority venture to speak of an extension of knowledge beyond its traditional limits. They regard this possibility as having been opened up by Rudolf Steiner in the development of Spiritual Science or Anthroposophy and they are therefore necessarily interested in finding what justification there is for the claim of Anthroposophy to be a legitimate and safe extension of knowledge into the realm of supersensible facts. They realize, of course, that any description of alleged supersensible facts must meet the rigorous standards for knowledge that have been set up for our age. This leads at once to the problem of proof.
The mere claim that anyone has “experienced” supersensible facts cannot satisfy a conscientious seeker. Are not, he will say, hallucinations experienced, too? What guarantee is there that the so-called spiritual investigator is not under a constant illusion that has grown in him into an elaborate and coherent system? Nor can the intensity with which a supersensible impression “comes” be called upon as a support. It speaks against rather than in favor of its validity, since everybody knows that the danger with all illusions is that they are so obviously “there” — for those who have them.
Can, then, supersensible facts be proven? For the sake of fairness to the seeker this question must find a straightforward answer.
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