The constitution of the human soul has undergone a profound
transformation in recent centuries. With the rise of ‘I’-
consciousness, individuality and intellectual thought have moved
to the foreground, opening a path toward freedom and selfdetermination.
Yet this gain has come with a loss: the vivid,
instinctive spiritual perception of earlier epochs has faded. In this
unique series of lecture, Rudolf Steiner traces this decisive shift in
consciousness and situates it within a wide panorama of world
history.
Central to our time is the question of Christ’s continuing presence.
Steiner follows the changing perception of Christ, from early
Gnosis through the formation of Church doctrine to the modern
age, indicating a renewed mode of spiritual perception –
Imagination – through which Christ may again be experienced as a
living reality. This reappearance, not in physical form but within
the etheric realm, marks a decisive threshold for contemporary
humanity.
Through a ‘symptomatic’ reading of events, Steiner explores the
distinct spiritual missions of East, West and Central Europe,
illuminating their contrasting modes of thought, social life and
cultural inheritance. Platonism and Aristotelianism, economy and
jurisprudence, spirituality and civic life emerge as interwoven
streams shaping humanity’s present crisis and future task. With
reflections on Goethe, Schiller and the threefold social principle,
these lectures articulate a form of spirituality suited to modern
consciousness – one that honours human freedom while awakening
new faculties of perception.
This revised edition features an introduction by Richard
Ramsbotham.
