Steiner Studies: Band 7 - 2026 Internationale Zeitschrift für kritische Steiner-Forschung / International Journal for Critical Steiner Research.

Article:

• Hartmut Traub: Multi-perspectivity or: Constructive perspectives on the border regions of ›philosophical esotericism‹
  DOI: 10.12857/STS.951000740-25
  Abstract

  Volume 2 of Steiner-Studies, published in 2021, featured the essay »Esoterology – A Philosophical Contribution to Esoteric Research.« In it, the author argues for greater consideration of the specifically philosophical perspective on the complex relationship between esotericism and exotericism, a perspective that has been discussed since Plato and Aristotle. This article builds on the ideas developed in 2021 and expands upon them in two stages. Firstly, in part one, the scope of philosophical esotericism is expanded – moving beyond the model introduced by Rainer Marten in 2021 – to examine, by way of example, several significant approaches in 20th- and 21st-century philosophy that are implicitly or explicitly esoteric in nature. Building on Marten’s work, the directional impulse of the esoteric-exoteric interplay is explored in conjunction with the thought of Martin Heidegger. Under the headings of the ›porous‹ and ›buffered self‹, the discussion centres on the culture-shaping substantiality of spiritual ideas and experiences, as well as the consequences of openness or closedness towards spirituality and transcendence, as explored by Charles Taylor and William James respectively. Finally, drawing on Jürgen Habermas and Wolfgang Janke, the indispensable dimension of transcendence (Habermas) is interpreted from multiple perspectives – in a differentiated yet non-exclusive manner – with regard to different approaches and forms of representation for truth-capable meaning-making. Naturally, other philosophical voices could – or indeed should – have been included in this discussion. For instance, Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Max Scheler’s The Place of Man in the Cosmos or Karl Jaspers’ Ciphers of Transcendence, among others. However, since this article is primarily concerned with opening up the discourse within anthroposophy to ›non-anthroposophical‹ and particularly philosophical fields of debate on the subject of esotericism, it should suffice to highlight a specific variety of thinkers from the 20th and 21st centuries who, despite their different overall approaches, still reveal central aspects of esoteric thought in their philosophies. In part two, under the heading of ›monistic multiperspectivism‹, an attempt is made to situate the distinctive features of Rudolf Steiner’s philosophical-anthroposophical esotericism within the esoterological context outlined in the first part, with a view to encouraging research into anthroposophy to understand and interpret Steiner’s work from and within this framework as well. In this context, finally – with reference to an expanded concept of art – a proposal is put forward to consider the artistically integrating way of life of eurythmic dance as the original culmination of the monistic perspectivism of Rudolf Steiner’s anthroposophy.
  Open Access

Report

• Albert Schmelzer: Steiner in the Tension between Philosophy, Spirituality and Lifeworld (Steiner im Spannungsfeld von Philosophie, Spiritualität und Lebenswelt)
  DOI: 10.12857/STS.951000740-22
  Abstract

  On 13 and 14 November 2025, an interdisciplinary expert colloquium on »Steiner at the Intersection between Philosophy, Spirituality and Lived Experience« (Steiner im Spannungsfeld von Philosophie, Spiritualität und Lebenswelt) took place at Campus I of Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences in Alfter. The colloquium was organised by the Institute for Education and Social Innovation (Institut für Bildung und gesellschaftliche Innovation) in cooperation with the International Steiner Studies of the publishing house frommann-holzboog. The aim of the colloquium was to treat Rudolf Steiner not merely as the founder of Anthroposophy, but to analyse his work in a differentiated manner from philosophical, religious-spiritual, cultural and historical perspectives. The event was organised by Prof. Dr. Hartmut Traub and Prof. Dr. Marcelo da Veiga, founding president of Alanus University and director of the Institut für Bildung und gesellschaftliche Innovation (ibugi).).
  Open Access

Review:

• Marcelo da Veiga: Albert Schmelzer: Rudolf Steiner im Spannungsfeld von Freiheitsphilosophie und Menschenrechten, Nation und »Rasse«.
  DOI: 10.12857/STS.951000740-23
  Abstract

  Besides the repeatedly posed question of the scientific status of anthroposophy – which, fundamentally, implies the question of the scientific status of spiritual teachings as such – the topic of »race« is the field that places Steiner most strongly in the public spotlight. It is far more emotionally charged than the rather abstract epistemological debates about scientificity and is much better suited to generating attention on social media and in talk shows.
  Open Access

Review:

• Ulrich Kaiser: Viktoria Vitanova-Kerber / Helmut Zander (Hg.): Anthroposophieforschung. Forschungsstand – Forschungslücken – Forschungsperspektiven.
  DOI: 10.12857/STS.951000740-24
  Abstract

  The present volume undertakes the first systematic attempt to constitute »research on anthroposophy« as an academic field of inquiry. Zander’s introduction maps the current state of research and its desiderata, yet draws a sharp epistemological boundary between university scholarship and the internal anthroposophical perspective – performatively reinforced by a consistent »we«-rhetoric that constitutes a collective research subject in demarcation from the »religious field.« This boundary-drawing is productively subverted by the contributions of the volume itself. The review analyses the methodological profiles of the individual essays: Ansgar Martins’ reception-historical differentiation between three successive types of Steiner interpretation; Ann-Kathrin Hoffmann’s conceptual-historical study of Waldorf pedagogy, whose perspective remains methodologically constrained by the omission of Waldorf-internal literature; Stéphanie Majerus’ ethnographically dense field study of Demeter farmers as a methodological point of reference; the regional studies on Romania and Bulgaria as pioneering contributions to a still-to-be-written global history; and the double essay in art history on Hilma af Klint, which corrects dominant anthroposophical interpretive claims. Hartmut Traub’s hermeneutic differentiation of textual genres, finally, proves a productive complement to Zander’s historical-critical approach. The paradoxical paucity of scholarly reception of the volume – three PhilPapers downloads, a single review to date – simultaneously confirms the institutional weakness of the very field that Zander claims to be founding.
  Open Access