Talk:Rudolf Steiner

Too many citations for any given sentence
See WP:citekill; we shouldn't have large numbers of citations for any single sentence. 2-3 citations should suffice normally. Butterfly or Chuang Tzu? (talk) 19:06, 15 March 2024 (UTC)


 * Well, that's a response to people claiming at this talk page that it would be somehow doubtful that the mainstream academic POV is that Steiner was a pseudoscientist pur sang. They did not seem to be content with just four or five citations.
 * And there are Wikipedians willing to argue that Anthroposophy isn't a religion, although I WP:CITED more than 50 scholars endorsing that it is (see Talk:Anthroposophy).
 * I had to argue with people who denied these are the mainstream academic views unless one cites at least two dozens scholars. See the archives of this talk page and Fringe theories/Noticeboard/Archive 63. So, yup, there are so many citations because such pro-Anthroposophy group of editors (see the cited FTN topic) either honestly did not know how mainstream science and mainstream academia view Anthroposophy, or at least pretended they didn't.
 * They denied that Rudolf Steiner is a pseudoscientist, they denied he is a pseudohistorian, they denied that Anthroposophy is a religion&mdash;despite these facts being print-published in reputable sources for more than seventy years, and still published in reasonably recent WP:RS.
 * While I can see the reason for the second overcite, I can't see the reason for the first one. Solved. I do notice that Citation overkill is against many citations (i.e. the numbers in superscript), not against many reliable sources. tgeorgescu (talk) 16:43, 16 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I'm not seeing anything really standing out in the current version at least for excessive foot notes (don't think I saw more than 3). That said, if there's ever a sparing need for many references in one footnote, there's always multiref templates. KoA (talk) 17:45, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

First marriage
His first marriage ended in divorce in June 1904, according to Dutch Wikipedia, citing (Lindenberg 2011:356; Zander 2007:241).

The only thing that is doubtful is separation (without divorce) vs. divorce. My German is not good enough for such nuances. E.g. religious Dutchies get formally separated instead of divorcing, since their religion does not allow them to divorce.

Reason? His second wife moved in his home, while he was married to his first wife. tgeorgescu (talk) 01:45, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

Schizophrenic
Now we have two psychiatrists who have diagnosed Rudolf Steiner with schizophrenia. Unlike (I presume) Wolfgang Treher, C.G. Jung actually met Rudolf Steiner, not to speak that Jung was much more famous than Treher. tgeorgescu (talk) 00:10, 9 May 2024 (UTC)


 * And yet somehow the man managed to write books, lead and develop a community, a schooling system, and create architectural masterpieces. Stupid. Project Apollo (talk) 21:37, 14 May 2024 (UTC)






 * Besides, if Steiner had freedom of speech, so did Treher and Jung. All of them wrote opinions which are germane to this article. tgeorgescu (talk) 06:46, 15 May 2024 (UTC)


 * Besides, we don't tell that what Treher and Jung claimed would be true or false, we just state they made such claims. tgeorgescu (talk) 23:45, 26 May 2024 (UTC)

Univocality
In respect to the claims about Steiner's Docetism, Adoptionism, Nestorianism, and Gnosticism: I don't believe in the univocality of the Bible, why I would believe in the univocality of mainstream WP:SCHOLARSHIP? tgeorgescu (talk) 16:19, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

NOT gnostic
id suggest removing this introductory statement that Steiner was influenced by Gnosticism as it's too speculative. Citing academic opinions on the nature of Steiner's work isn't the same as reading the words from the man himself. Anthroposophy is the study of man and the cosmos - it's more aligned to Hermeticism than it is to gnosticism as gnosticism is a faith based system, whereas Anthroposophy is a scientific examination (whether people accept it to be or not). He does not focus on the idea of a Demiurge, but utilizes the belief systems and names of and in multiple religions.

Here is a quote from Steiner: "... And if people who venture to judge of Anthroposophy to-day, would take the trouble to observe these things, they would not fall into the calumny of confusing Anthroposophy with what is really only a dishing up of ancient Gnosticism, or similar things." - Feb 06, 1921, public lecture

Project Apollo (talk) 21:34, 14 May 2024 (UTC)


 * The fact he is influenced by gnosticism is hardly speculative and clearly well cited given that you had to remove five wp:RELIABLESOURCES supporting the claim—blindlynx 01:49, 15 May 2024 (UTC)


 * Hi,, see especially which is a verbatim quote inside our article. See also the quote below it. It's a complicated matter, and cannot be answered simplistically.
 * To delve into terminology, "Gnostic" means "one who knows," rather than "one who believes." So, does not exactly help your argument that Steiner isn't Gnostic.
 * Hermeticism, Gnosticism, and Rosicrucianism are not mutually exclusive terms. Also, you say it like it can be only black or white, while in fact there are nuances.
 * So, to answer the charge, Anthroposophy is not, but it is certainly influenced by Ancient Gnosticism. I mean, Steiner did not take everything from Gnosticism at face value, but was certainly influenced by it (to the extent it was known in Steiner's time).
 * Either he was a full-blown Gnostic, or he was no Gnostic at all is a false dilemma. Ancient Gnosticism means a bewildering variety of sects and religious beliefs, to the extent that some scholars have questioned if speaking of Ancient Gnosticism has any meaning at all. I don't know if Steiner knew that, but present-day scholars know it full well.
 * Steiner being influenced by Gnosticism has been described based upon at least 13 WP:RS, several of them being written by full professors who are experts in this field. What about the Catholic Church, what made them decide that Anthroposophy is a neognostic heresy? I did not analyze their statements, but two elements are obvious: reincarnation and Steiner's Christology, plus a suggestion that the Holy Trinity does not mean the seven Elohim. tgeorgescu (talk) 06:42, 17 May 2024 (UTC)
 * If I wanted to smear Steiner as a Gnostic, why did I WP:CITE two WP:RS which say that's only half-true? tgeorgescu (talk) 19:11, 6 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Rudolf Steiner's official journal was called Lucifer Gnosis. My emphasis is not upon Lucifer, like that of theological prudes, but upon Gnosis. This is at least a token he moved inside (neo)Gnostic circles. tgeorgescu (talk) 10:29, 11 June 2024 (UTC)