The Rudolf Steiner Archive

16. Human Freedom

[ 1 ] Freedom is a word that makes every heart beat faster, a word to which the ideals of our finest fellow human beings have been drawn, and for which the noblest minds of humanity have selflessly devoted their work, their lives, and their very selves. — Freedom is what great thinkers have declared to be intrinsically linked to the entire development of humanity. Hegel calls the history of humankind “a progression of people in the consciousness of freedom.” He says: If we look to the East with its powerful monarchy, we see how countless people languish in bondage and how only one is free. — In later history, we then see how more people become free, and how, through Christianity, the inner potential for freedom has been placed in everyone’s heart and soul, how entire masses of people shed their blood to make real what Christianity has presented as a divine gift. The sense of freedom runs even deeper in Christianity. The Lord said:

[ 2 ] “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free!” (John 8:32)

[ 3 ] When we enter the quiet study of the thinker and philosopher, we see how the deepest minds—such as Leibniz and Fichte—have regarded it as their task to explore what human freedom entails. They asked: How are we to relate to this central concept of our entire human spiritual life? Is man free, or is he subject to a necessary compulsion? Can we truly treat a criminal the same way if we know that he was predestined to commit an evil act, or if we know that he was free, that he committed his act of his own free will? — It may well be that, precisely because the question of freedom runs so deep, it ranks among humanity’s deepest mysteries.

[ 4 ] The Theosophical worldview speaks of the human capacity through which one can develop one’s higher senses. In its “Paths of Knowledge,” it describes the wide variety of qualities and virtues one must acquire in order to attain knowledge; the final of these qualities is the will to freedom. This is an essential part of the process if one wishes to develop to a higher level. Anyone who wishes to approach this enigma of humanity in a completely natural and thorough manner must frame this question somewhat differently than it is usually posed. Usually, one asks: Is humanity free, or is it subject to an inescapable compulsion?

[ 5 ] A large number of thinkers say: People are free; another group of thinkers says: No, anyone who believes that fails to realize that there must be a cause, in one way or another, for everything a person does. — In truth, such a thinker tells himself that humans are not free, and that even when they appear to act freely, there is still some condition underlying their actions. If there were no specific reasons for an action, they would not perform it. An example is given here of a donkey standing between two bundles of hay, unable to decide which one to eat, and therefore starving to death because it is not free and the causes on the right and left are the same.

[ 6 ] Perhaps one could say: Freedom is something one must first acquire; at that point, a person is neither completely free nor completely unfree. As he develops toward freedom, he becomes increasingly free. Human development is the path to freedom. - This brings us closer to the view of those who regard human freedom as something that can be acquired through experience and knowledge. - Consider the child. With a child, one can always determine what drives him or her to act and what he or she will do under certain conditions. The question, “Is a person free?” does not make sense; however, the following question does make sense: Does a person become freer through development?

[ 7 ] With a mechanism, we can always say exactly what must happen based on the forces and conditions inherent in it. If we turn to a plant, however, we cannot say with such certainty what will happen to it. With animals, we can predict even less definitively what they will do. Something akin to arbitrariness already emerges in higher animals. If we then move up to humans, we see the realm of necessity becoming increasingly restricted. In the case of primitive humans, however, we see only a spark of freedom; but the more a person develops, so that he arrives at moral concepts, the less one can assume with certainty what he will do under given circumstances. — In the case of humanity’s leaders, one cannot assume at all what they will do. They always do what is original. Whoever merely carries out those things that the chain of necessity leads up to him adds nothing new to the development of humanity. But he who adds something new is the one who, from the wellspring of enlightenment, brings into humanity something that was not there before. Originality brings about progress, and originality must go beyond the realm of mere necessity.

[ 8 ] Human beings can be understood in such a way that we divide them into the lower nature, which finds expression in the physical body; and into the higher, soulful, spiritual nature, which at first glimmers only like a spark, but which increasingly becomes the ruler of their being. In a child, one finds many traits that speak to the heart but bear a strong resemblance to those of the parents, relatives, and so on. But then that spark—which is originality and freedom—begins to stir. In what is alive there, the innermost core of the soul itself begins to express the human being, the very essence of the being.

[ 9 ] The more originality a person possesses, the more it is reflected in the features and movements of his entire being. Then the person emerges from within into his surroundings. First, they inscribe their innermost being into their very being; their facial features and gestures become an imprint of their soul. The more perfect a person becomes, the more they leave the footprints of their existence on their surroundings; they influence ever-widening circles. How does a person acquire the ability to influence first themselves and then their surroundings in this way?

[ 10 ] Freedom is never arbitrariness, but something entirely different. - Drives and instincts are the purest tyrants, and when we follow them, we are subject to arbitrariness. Goethe said: “Only those who have first attained mastery within themselves and over themselves are worthy of freedom.” — First we must master our drives and passions; only then do we have a claim to true freedom.

[ 11 ] We must rise from everyday knowledge to an understanding of the interconnections of the world. What matters here is not intellectual knowledge, but spiritual and soul-based knowledge; this knowledge is the beginning of freedom. — As we enter into our existence, we are born into a body. From the moment of birth, a human being is endowed with a certain set of abilities and a certain degree of perfection.

[ 12 ] We ask: Where did this come from? — It was shaped by the laws of the spiritual powers of the universe. We have been placed in the world, and the laws of the universe have worked upon us and with us up to this point. We must immerse ourselves in the laws of the worlds; we must rise to the creative forces in the world. By making the laws of the worlds our own, we set ourselves free more and more. Understanding the laws of the worlds, becoming one with them—that is what sets us free. Whoever is compelled to act is unfree; but whoever recognizes the laws of the universe becomes free. Realizing that one ought to do something—that is what it means to act freely. As long as we do not recognize the highest Divine, we act under compulsion. But when we recognize the Divine, we act as those who share in the knowledge of God’s thoughts: then we become free.

[ 13 ] This is what Meister Eckhart meant when he spoke so beautifully and powerfully about freedom in his own way. There is much in his words that, with a wonderfully intimate and subtle power, awakens in people an understanding of freedom. It is impossible for one who is filled with the knowledge of God to do evil; for such a person, doing good becomes second nature.

[ 14 ] In his letters “On the Aesthetic Education of Man,” Schiller developed a pure concept of freedom. The whole endeavor culminates in giving people a concept of human freedom.

[ 15 ] In an epigram, Schiller sharply criticized Kant's concept of virtue, which regarded the suppression of instincts and passions as necessary.

[ 16 ] If a person acts in accordance with Kant’s concept of virtue, then he is a slave to his ideals, to the dictates of reason. If he blindly follows his drives and passions, he is a slave to his base nature. In both cases, the person is not free; he becomes free only when he is able to attain the middle ground between the two. This conception of freedom constitutes the intimate nobility of Schiller. Only the person who has ennobled his drives and instincts to such an extent that he cannot help but do what duty commands is truly free. By following his passions, such a person then follows the highest moral ideals.

[ 17 ] Sensuality and morality, naturalness and spirituality come together in such a person. One attains this state through inner work on oneself. This state has been called “enthusiasm,” which means being in God; one’s instincts and passions have been so purified that even the basest impulses desire only what they are meant to desire under the divine laws of the world.

[ 18 ] Human beings are free to a certain extent, insofar as they have ennobled their instincts and desires, and unfree insofar as they have not yet done so.

[ 19 ] Art should serve to educate people toward freedom. — The eye—a sensory perception—conveys the pleasure derived from works of art; but the soul also shines forth from the work of art. As we look with our senses, the spiritual flows into us at the same time. Art should elevate human sensuality to spirituality and deepen the human being.

[ 20 ] It is a process by which human beings move from bondage to freedom. Among the educational means intended to lead to entry into the spiritual worlds, the will to freedom is also mentioned.

[ 21 ] Many questions have been asked incorrectly; they must be asked correctly—and this includes the question of freedom. It, too, must be asked correctly; only then can one understand how the laws of reincarnation and karma operate. At first, a person must learn to use their body as a tool to connect with the environment. They must learn how to use themselves as a lower human being. Through many lifetimes, they learn the path to freedom—the path to unleashing humanity’s deepest nature and becoming one with the divine nature. There is a sense of peace and security in living in freedom. The philosopher Fichte spoke these words, which give strength to the soul: “A person can do what he ought to do; if he says he cannot, then he does not want to.”

[ 22 ] We must first learn to will; our actions become free when our will is imbued with knowledge. Freedom grows within a person through the continuous absorption of knowledge. We draw in such power when we learn to view the laws of the world in the right way. Spirit and law must exist in the world if we are to find spirit and law in the world. We extract the laws from the world; therefore, the laws of the world must already be there. If human beings are to form thoughts about the world, then [the world] must be structured according to thought. Those who shaped the world were the ones who first placed thoughts within it.

[ 23 ] One who has recognized and internalized the laws of the world acts as a conscious being within the freedom of the world and becomes an assistant to the gods in the world. Through the understanding of these laws, we become free; then we can act consciously.

[ 24 ] Joys are gifts for the present; but we learn to appreciate suffering only after it has passed, for suffering is a source of knowledge. A God who would remove suffering from the world would not be doing humanity any favors. The path of suffering is the path of knowledge, and only knowledge sets us free.

[ 25 ] Only those who must fight for freedom and life every day deserve them. (Goethe)

[ 26 ] Development is the path to freedom. Christ called himself the way, the truth—knowledge—and the life—development. (John 14:6)

[ 27 ] The guiding principle for human beings must be: “Die to the lower and awaken the higher.” “Die and become”—that is what has always been at work throughout the entire process of human education toward the development of freedom.

[ 28 ] The Bible verse states this; it tells us the great, solemn, redemptive truth that, by imbuing ourselves with the will of the laws of nature, we become great participants in the events of the world. In this sense, Christ Jesus says:

[ 29 ] You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free! (John 8:32)