Currently in the USA there is a “revolution of common sense” underway under the banner of nationalism, competition for natural resources and economic growth without regard for ecological limitations. In the last two episodes Steiner’s notion of aesthetic culture, that embraces not only the arts and humanities but also natural science and economics, was presented as an alternate vision for a revolution of common sense. Some of the most positive developments of the last century, the emergence of the modern environmental movement and social-ecological finance and banking, have recently been shown to be connected with Steiner’s influence in these areas by Dan McKanan. This episode presents two examples of strategies, in modern political thought and philosophy, to navigate tensions between “anaesthetic” and technocratic tendencies in the natural sciences and economy on the one hand, and lived, human experience on the other. What comes to the fore is a gap, one that a true revolution of common sense might fill.

References:

Glazebrook, Trish (2004) Global Technology and the Promise of Control, in David Tabachnick and Toivo Koivukoski (eds), Globalization, Technology, and Philosophy. (SUNY Press, Albany).

Heidegger, Martin (1977) The Question Concerning Technology, and Other Essays. (New York: Harper Collins).

McKanan, Dan (2017) Eco-Alchemy: Anthroposophy and the History and Future of Environmentalism. (Berkeley, CA: Univ of California Press).

Stallabrass, Julian (2020) Contemporary Art: a Very Short Introduction. (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

Questions of Courage is a project of the Youth Section at the Goetheanum, in collaboration with Goetheanum TV.
To support the Youth Section Global Access Fund, please visit: https://www.goetheanum.org/en/youth-donations.

Building on the previous episode this session explores the connection between natural science, as intuitive, empirical understanding, and Steiner’s associative economics, particularly the idea of true price. The result is a picture of a revolution of common sense that counters nationalism, fosters sober judgement across from natural and social conditions of life and encourages global, voluntary cooperation in a fraternal spirit. It is a revolution of common sense in stark contrast with what is currently being championed under the same name.

Steiner, Rudolf (2013) Rethinking Economics: Lectures and Seminars on World Economics. Vol. CW 340-41. (Great Barrington, MA: SteinerBooks).

Steiner, Rudolf (2021) Die Philosophie der Freiheit: Grundzüge einer modernen Weltanschauung - Seelische Beobachtungsresultate nach naturwissenschaftlicher Methode. Vol. GA 4. (Dornach, Switzerland: Rudolf Steiner Verlag).

McKanan, Dan (2017) Eco-Alchemy: Anthroposophy and the History and Future of Environmentalism. (Berkeley, CA: Univ of California Press).

Groh, Trauger, and Steven McFadden (1998) Farms of Tomorrow Revisited. (Kimberton, PA: SteinerBooks).

Questions of Courage is a project of the Youth Section at the Goetheanum, in collaboration with Goetheanum TV.
To support the Youth Section Global Access Fund, please visit: https://www.goetheanum.org/en/youth-donations.

Talk of a revolution of common sense in the USA and around the world is focused on nationalism, economic competition and development without regard of environmental and ecological considerations. This episode suggests the revolution offers a false promise even while the widespread appeal of the idea of a revolution of common sense is deeply justified. In this episode Goethe’s natural scientific method of intuitive understanding is presented as a discipline of common sense, or aesthetics, with reference to the role it played during the emergence of the modern environmental movement and green banks. A follow up episode indicates how this is connected with Rudolf Steiner’s associative economics, how Goethe’s primal phenomena is for theoretical philosophy what true price is for economic, practical philosophy.

References:

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (1975) Goethes Naturwissenschaftliche Schriften Ed. Rudolf Steiner. Vol. I-V. (Dornach, Switzerland: Rudolf Steiner Verlag).

Förster, Eckart (2017) Die 25 Jahre Der Philosophie. (Frankfurt, Germnay: Vittorio Klostermann GmbH).

McKanan, Dan (2017) Eco-Alchemy: Anthroposophy and the History and Future of Environmentalism. (Berkeley, CA: Univ of California Press).

https://www.natureinstitute.org/

https://science.goetheanum.org/en/section/natural-science-section

Questions of Courage is a project of the Youth Section at the Goetheanum, in collaboration with Goetheanum TV.
To support the Youth Section Global Access Fund, please visit: https://www.goetheanum.org/en/youth-donations.