The Early Life of Rudolf Steiner
An Introduction to the Founder of Waldorf Education
Rudolf Steiner was born on February 25, 1861, in the tiny Croatian village of Kraljevec, then part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. He was raised and educated in Vienna, where he studied mathematics, physics, chemistry and natural history.
After graduating from the Vienna Institute of Technology in 1883, Steiner worked extensively as a writer and editor for numerous scientific journals. In 1882, Steiner began compiling the scientific works of Goethe, which were published in German National Literature. He later published two books on Goethe's teachings: A Theory of Knowledge Implicit in Goethe's World Conception and Goethe's Conception of the World. In addition, he compiled and edited the complete works of philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer and writer Jean Paul.
In his autobiography, Steiner describes a that at the age of 21, on the train from Vienna to his hometown, Steiner encountered an herb gatherer who described spirituality in terms of his own rational experience and directed the young scientist toward the philosophy of Fichte. This formative encounter would lead Steiner to the creation of what he later termed "spiritual science." In 1894, he published The Philosophy of Freedom (later renamed Intuitive Thinking as A Spiritual Path), which became the basis for his later anthroposophical works.
In 1891, Rudolf Steiner published his doctoral thesis on Fichte's concept of the ego, entitled "The Basic Question of Epistemology, Especially in Relation to Fichte's Philosophy of Science." In addition to Fichte and Goethe, Steiner was also influenced by Nietzsche. Deeply moved by a visit in 1896 to the then-catatonic philosopher, Steiner wrote the book Friedrich Nietzsche, Fighter for Freedom.
Rudolf Steiner's Work with the Theosophical Society
By the turn of the twentieth century, Steiner had become a well-known and respected writer in philosophy and natural science. In 1899, however, he began to embark on more spiritual scholarly path. Impressed by an article Steiner had published on the esoteric nature of Goethe's fairy tales, The German Theosophical Society - an spiritual organization devoted to the concept of universal brotherhood - invited Steiner as a guest speaker. Rudolf Steiner became a regular and popular lecturer for the Theosophical Society, and in 1904 we was appointed leader of Germany and Austria's Theosophical Esoteric Society. It was there that met his second wife and life partner, Marie von Sivers.
As the reputation of Theosophical Society grew, so did Steiner's own reputation as a lecturer on so-called spiritual science, which he described as using scientific methods and intellectual reasoning to achieve spiritual growth. Significant philosophical rifts developed between Steiner and the Theosophists' leader, Annie Besant, and in 1912, Steiner and large number of his followers left the Theosophy Society to form a new spiritual movement they named anthroposophy, or the wisdom of the human being.
Sources:
Young Rudolf Steiner
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Steiner with Annie Besant
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Rudolf Steiner as a Student in Vienna
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