The Rudolf Steiner Archive

22. Man, Woman, and Child in the Light of Spiritual Science

[ 1 ] Nowhere in life is it more evident than in the presence of a growing child that, for those who are attuned to it, the heart’s impulse must urge them toward a spiritual understanding of existence. For while it is of infinite importance for all life and being to look beyond the sensory world to the spiritual foundations of existence, it still seems something quite special that, in our dealings with a growing child—whatever our relationship to the child may be—we should help the spirit, still hidden within, to attain its full and free existence. The child stands before us, enveloped in the material existence of its future. We know that this future must be brought forth through development out of the material; we know that the spirit must unfold from the material; we are faced with the task of nurturing and caring for the spirit within the outward appearance of the senses. And while material knowledge may lead us into error regarding our worldview, we know that we truly stray from the path of our duties for the welfare of humanity if we lack a sense of the hidden spirit of the growing child. Spiritual science enables us to liberate the spirit from its material shells.

[ 2 ] In the past, I was allowed to speak about education; today, we should focus more on what a child is. We should focus on the child’s relationship to its future and to a full, fulfilling human existence. For it is from such knowledge that we will learn how to truly support the growing child.

[ 3 ] This is an important question: How should we relate to the past if we want to find the right path for future development?

[ 4 ] In our present age, which is steeped in materialistic ideas, heredity and ancestry play a major role. If we have an understanding of how a child’s characteristics are traced back—first to the parents, then to the ancestors—we can grasp what magnificent fruits scientific thinking has borne regarding heredity. But the spiritual sciences will show that this alone is not sufficient when it comes to the vital relationship between man, woman, and child. Anyone tasked with raising a child sees how the child’s talents and abilities—what we summarize as “individuality”—prove to be a new enigma. Anyone who takes this task seriously feels like a puzzle-solver faced with each child’s unique individuality.

[ 5 ] Heredity and individuality are central to our topic. Heredity is a concept that has emerged from contemporary scientific ideas. These ideas are based much less on a comprehensive observation of human life than on observations of the plant and animal kingdoms. Not a single word, not a single critical thought, should be raised against the positive contributions of scientific research in this field. Much work still needs to be done in this field. But research concerning human beings remains insufficient. If one observes individual characteristics in human beings—and initially the purely physical ones, which are inherited just as in animals—one falls into abstractions. One arrives at meager concepts regarding human beings, whereas one arrives at extremely fruitful concepts regarding the animal realm. We must bear in mind the enormous difference between humans and animals—that the concepts derived from the lower kingdoms are insufficient for human life. In humans, there are four members of their being, and so on. The true inner core of the human being—the soul—and what flows from the “I” is independent of the two members: the physical body and the etheric body. When we consider that in the plant kingdom we deal only with the physical and etheric bodies, and in the animal kingdom, in addition to these, with the astral body—and that the astral body is entirely subservient to the physical body, whereas in human beings the astral body is influenced by the “I”—then we will understand that we cannot transfer the concepts from the other kingdoms to human beings.

[ 6 ] There is a very simple line of reasoning to illustrate this. The major difference between humans and animals—setting aside all matters of the occult—becomes apparent through purely logical consideration. In the case of animals, our interest is directed equally toward the grandfather, father, son, and grandson; what interests us most is the generic aspect. Far below our interest in the species lies our interest in individuality. The species-specific far outshines the individual. That is why an animal has no biography. Only humans have a biography, because in the case of humans, the statement holds true that, in a certain sense, they are their own species. Just as strongly as we are interested in the species when it comes to animals, so strongly must we be interested in the individual when it comes to humans. Some dog owners will say that humans differ from animals only in degree; anyone who observes an animal could also write a biography of their dog. — Of course, there are parallels between the two. One could even write the biography of a steel nib. But in the true sense of the word, only humans have a biography—even the most insignificant among them.

[ 7 ] There is something else connected to the fact of the biography. We see how an animal is born and, shortly after birth, has already reached its full potential; how it performs certain tasks because these tasks are related to heredity. Because human beings are individuals, we consider it our right toward each individual human being to foster the development of what is uniquely individual through education; this corresponds to the development of the animal, which proceeds through the entire species lineage.

[ 8 ] This leads us to the spiritual-scientific fact that the animal has only three bodies, while the human being has a fourth in addition. When we see movements and impulses, joy and pain flowing from the animal’s body, we say that the astral body is connected to the lower bodies and derives its characteristics from them through heredity. This is demonstrated by the similarity in physiognomy and the individual limbs. The etheric body shapes the images of the physical body. Both derive their structure from heredity.

[ 9 ] Because human beings are individual beings—that is, because they are grounded in an “I”—the impulses of the “I” are imprinted on the astral body. When the astral body has inner impulses, certain aspects of the human being emerge that cannot be understood by relying solely on heredity. From an observational standpoint, it is easy to raise objections to this (the Bach and Bernoulli families).

[ 10 ] Such things give the impression that human heredity exists, but in a manner of speaking, in a more spiritualized, more highly developed form than in plants and animals. The argument goes further and shows that, in such a case, the remarkable genius can indeed be traced back through the generations. Genius, it is claimed, is the sum of the characteristics of one’s ancestors. — A peculiar conclusion, for this final genius is not passed on. Based on this logic, one should not be particularly surprised that a descendant—even if he is a genius—exhibits certain characteristics of his ancestors; but what really matters is having a correct understanding of this inheritance. In the case of a plant, one is not particularly surprised when it grows differently in different soils.

[ 11 ] But no one will doubt that it was not the soil that produced the plant, but rather the seed that was planted in the soil. So one shouldn’t be surprised to come back from the water wet. Attempting to prove heredity by arguing that genius appears at the end of a generation is proof that it is not passed down. People fail to notice the illogicality of this.

[ 12 ] We see only what we want to see. For an educator facing a developing child, there is no need for proof that, in addition to inherited traits, something inherently unique emerges from within. When we see this individuality emerge, we must ask ourselves: Where does this individuality come from? Materialism has a superstitious chapter in its body of knowledge on this subject. Here, materialism contradicts all basic premises. It would not have been surprising if, 300 years ago, it had been said that the individual arises from nothing, from the sum total of the ancestral line. Three hundred years ago, people believed that fish could form from mud. Then an Italian naturalist uttered the following statement: “Life cannot arise from what appears to be dead.” — Today, the entire field of natural science shares Haeckel’s view that “life can only arise from life.” But when Redi expressed this, it was considered heresy, so that he narrowly escaped the fate of Giordano Bruno.

[ 13 ] Today, it is no longer fashionable to burn such heretics; they are regarded as backward people. Materialism does not burn; it employs other inquisitorial methods. The following principle applies to spiritual science: The spiritual can arise only from the spiritual. — No combination of physical causes can explain individuality without our resorting to a miracle. The materialist is superstitious when it comes to the spiritual. Spiritual science, on the other hand, stands firmly on the ground that the spiritual arises from the spiritual. We trace individuality back to the spiritual.

[ 14 ] Here we are faced with what spiritual science presents to us as a universal law. What appears to us in the lower realms as a species appears to us, in relation to human beings, as repeated earthly lives. What a human being acquires in this life forms the foundation and shape of subsequent lives. Thus we see true individuality unfolding as a spiritual unity through many earthly lives. If we consider the entire human individual as a whole, we find that the physical and etheric bodies are part of the hereditary line, whereas the I and the astral body can be traced back to earlier earthly lives and the spiritual realm. When we hold this before our spiritual eyes, it can provide us with a satisfactory explanation for why the human being standing before us as a child appears to us as a combination of heredity and past incarnations.

[ 15 ] How, then, do we explain such manifestations of heredity? We must realize that the child existed long before anyone could have thought of the physical characteristics that are hereditary. Just as there is attraction and repulsion in physical life, so too is there this force between the sheaths imparted by the man and the woman.

[ 16 ] A child is not drawn to just any set of parents, but rather to those with whom it feels a connection. Much more subtle characteristics than the face are inherited, but it is precisely these that form the basis of attraction to the individual. Human beings possess not only an external but also an internal physiognomy. The child must be drawn by the bond of attraction to the embodiment that provides the external instruments for its talents. The human individuality that is taking shape chooses its parents. Mathematical thinking does not have the brain as its organ, but rather the three semicircular canals in the ear, which stand perpendicular to one another in the three directions of space and, if damaged, cause a loss of the sense of orientation. Painting is based on a very specific structure of the eye.

[ 17 ] There is no question of a contradiction between heredity and reincarnation. Man and woman bequeath only the physical. The child is born into a pair of parents just as it is born out of them. We see the plant as it absorbs the characteristic features of the soil. The child sprouts from the soil of its lineage and manifests everything that belongs to the father and mother. We also observe the individual germ—that which has been planted in this soil as true individuality, existing as a unified entity throughout various incarnations. We recall Schopenhauer: as man and woman seek one another, the offspring is already taking shape.

[ 18 ] He often had sudden flashes of insight that were remarkably apt, but which are only properly understood when illuminated by spiritual science. The individuality of love between a man and a woman already contains the will of the life-to-be, and in the glances with which the lovers meet lies the child striving into existence; indeed, there is something just as enigmatic, indeed mysterious, in the act of love as there is something individual in each human being. But spiritual science is the first to shed the proper light on it. What do we see in individuality, in the “I” and the astral body? That which plays a role in the love between a man and a woman—that which constitutes the feeling of pleasure in each individual case—what is it? The reflection, the mirror image of individuality that seeks to enter into life. The descending individuality announces itself in feeling. The feeling of love is given to the child’s individuality by the father and mother.

[ 19 ] Such things cannot be proven, yet they are true for those who sense and perceive the truth. There is no proof for the law of reincarnation; it must be an experience of the inner life. In the feelings between man and woman, we see the descending individuality surging forth. The child casts its shadow ahead into the man and woman. Love and desire are merely emanations of the astral body. The physical and etheric bodies of the man and woman bring the child into being. The child stimulates the astral body between the man and woman, and the result is the interplay of love’s emotions.

[ 20 ] Now some might say: How can you come to terms with the true feeling of motherhood and fatherhood? They are reborn in their child. The love that exists between parents and children shines with greater radiance. It was already present on the child’s part even before conception. The child felt drawn by its love, which was still spiritual; love was at work before the first atom of the physical realm came into being; and the child loves the parents it seeks out, casting the shadow of its love into the act of love. Love appears to us even more refined, more spiritual.

[ 21 ] If we look at things this way, the system of inheritance becomes much clearer to us. There is a feminine aspect in men and a masculine aspect in women; then we will understand that the traits of daughters come from the father, [while] those of sons come from the mother. People who possess a particularly pronounced spiritual nature often inherit it from their mother. We have four characteristics, from which a vast combination of traits arises. We will not say such strange things: We need not be surprised that women now possess this or that characteristic. These people always forget that women also had a father. This casts the spiritual and the physical in an entirely different light. Bringing this awareness to life must have an important consequence. We will look not merely at physical heredity, but at individuality, which must be something sacred to us—something we must liberate from its outer shells. Such a perspective will transform into a wholly different and higher respect and appreciation for the enigmatic individuality that is indeed to be unraveled. We will learn to respect not only the freedom of adults but also the individuality of children. Spiritual science leads us to feelings, sensations, and practical creation in the face of life’s tasks. Spiritual science sees the creative spirit behind what has become physical and regards the material as the effect of past spirituality.

[ 22 ] Spiritual science sees the spirit—which is still veiled—shaping itself into the future as its helper. Our knowledge leads us into the spiritual creative work of the past. Through this, we are guided to appreciate evolving beings. Only by respecting the freedom of the evolving human being can we ensure human progress into the future. Goethe, in many of his statements, has captured the great patterns that recur in everyday life. We look back into the past and see the creative spirit. The world’s great past is revealed to us through insight, and through this we gain respect and appreciation for the spirit that is yet to come into being.

If yesterday is clear and open to you,
You will be strong today,
And so you can hope for a tomorrow
That will be no less happy.