Template talk:Anthroposophy

There is an on-going discussion as to what belongs on this template, and how the entries should be labeled. Also: should there be a picture? What should it be? Suggestions are welcome! Hgilbert (talk) 21:43, 14 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I've made some changes to make the template a little less overpowering (narrower, slightly less bold text -- smaller). I think narrower is better. Feel free to revise. --EPadmirateur (talk) 22:30, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

Founders and anthroposophists
If this is to be a header template it needs to be brief. If it were to be a full-page footer, it could be expanded. But not all anthroposophists need be mentioned (that's what the Category Anthroposophy is for), nor are all early anthroposophists founders. hgilbert (talk) 12:21, 31 March 2009 (UTC)

That is correct that not all early anthroposophists are founders, but the ones that were designated as founders are the pioneers, founders and innovators of the movement.

The Theosophy template which is very well put together is what I was basing the format of the Anthroposophy template on. Header template doesn't have to include all the anthroposophists for that would include thousands of people. But, these people that were mentioned are very influential, large and well-known personalities associated with Anthroposophy. Right now as it stands no anthroposophists are mentioned and the articles that link up anthroposophists across portals, articles and divergent areas doesn't exist yet. Few people will go to lengths to find the categories and templates to locate other Anthroposophists and it would be nice to see some bottom footer or header templates that link all these people, templates and pages together in a convenient and coherent way as Theosophy has done. This template is towards the ends that information is easily and readily available on wikipedia without the need to keep jumping around to different websites and category sections.

I also went to great lengths and pains to make sure the previews of these templates don't ruin the compositional structure of the articles they exist in but rather improve the inter-connectivity and aesthetic of the articles that include this template. So the thinness of the header template might be too long and the names can be reduced but I think the fields for texts, founders, leading anthroposophists (to name a few), institutions and movements (which as it stands right now is the entirety of the template) would be nice. --Theosopher7 (talk) 23:56, 1 April 2009 (UTC)


 * This is an interesting direction; let's set some clearer criteria for who qualifies as founders, though. hgilbert (talk) 12:49, 2 April 2009 (UTC)

Pages for which this template is suitable
Should this template be on biographical articles of prominent personalities connected to Anthroposophy? (Wegman, Konig, etc.) It was placed on a number of such pages by one editor and removed by another. I'm not sure if it's helpful/appropriate. hgilbert (talk) 18:03, 1 April 2009 (UTC)

Ita Wegman worked closely with Rudolf Steiner, was a founding figure of Anthroposophy and was greatly influential in Anthroposophical Medicine. She is a founding, influential and important member of Anthroposophy and has strong roots and ties with Anthroposophy. Absolutely these prominent personalities should be connected to Anthroposophy on Wikipedia as they ARE connected to Anthroposophy. This would be like asking if Annie Besant and Charles Leadbeater should be connected to Theosophy? Of course they are connected to these movements, as board members of the Anthroposophical Society and founders of initiatives that have been linked to Rudolf Steiner, Anthroposophy and the movements which have been influenced by Steiner and Anthroposophy. Karl Konig founded the Camphill Movement, highly connected with Biodynamic Farms and Waldorf Schools. These are all influenced by Anthroposophy and should be included in a way that is easily and readily accessible. Karl Konig was a seminal figure of Anthroposophy and was a founding member that actually had the fortune to know Rudolf Steiner. I think its very helpful for inter-connectivity purposes, informational value and to show the close connection to these different cultural manifestations. These updates, edits and templates are extremely helpful to show the different ways these personalities link up with each other on Wikipedia just as they do in real life. --Theosopher7 (talk) 00:08, 2 April 2009 (UTC)


 * Theosopher7, you added a Navbox to the Herbert Witzenmann article which shows a horizontal footer format. I can see the merit of such a footer template. There is a problem with naming so many founders of the A.S. since the some of the ones you have mentioned are not correct. Likewise the list of anthroposophists can be problematic: how is it to be defined? Finally, there is a conflict with this template which is also called "Anthroposophy". This template is limited to "Anthroposophically inspired work" not lists of people; it is an in-line template so it is limited in how much can be included in it; and it does not belong in articles on individual anthroposophists (other than Steiner) like you have added to Aasmund Brynildsen. I think a compromise can be made but right now there is a lot of overlap between your proposed version and this template. It needs more discussion. --EPadmirateur (talk) 04:48, 2 April 2009 (UTC)


 * Furthermore, I think a template listing anthroposophists is not advisable since being an anthroposophist is not a notable attribute of some (even many) of the people listed (also it is questionable whether some of these people qualify or consider themselves anthroposophists or would want to be called this). And the template list may not pass muster as a notable enough grouping of articles. I think the Category:Anthroposophists is adequate for bringing them together. Perhaps a link to the category can be made in this template. If we do go with a footer template on all of the anthroposophist articles, it should be coded as initially "hidden". --EPadmirateur (talk) 04:57, 2 April 2009 (UTC)