Rudolf Steiner's philosophy of freedom as a basis for spiritual education?
Citation
Oberski, I. (2011) Rudolf Steiner's philosophy of freedom as a basis for spiritual education?, International Journal of Children's Spirituality, vol. 16, , pp. May-17,
Abstract
The spiritual well-being of children is often thought to be an important goal and
outcome of education. Such spiritual well-being is also implicitly assumed by the
Human Rights Act, which includes the right to 'freedom of thought, conscience
and religion' [Article 18]. I argue that such freedom requires an education that
fosters development of spiritual freedom. What spirituality means to people can be
determined through empirical research. However, the nature of actual spiritual
freedom itself can be understood and experienced only through a phenomenology
of one's own thinking. Steiner offered such an approach. As an extension of
Goethe's earlier holistic scientific method, Steiner showed that in thinking we
have hold of a corner of the world process in which we, as human beings, play a
crucial part in its coming into being. Steiner's philosophy of freedom leads
logically to spirituality, through intuitive thinking and forms the basis of Steiner-
Waldorf education, which has the