Steiner, Rudolf (1861-1925), was an Austrian-born philosopher who founded a spiritual movement called anthroposophy. Anthroposophy claims that divine wisdom is naturally accessible and can be used to develop the potential of the individual. Steiner believed that through the pure soul’s understanding of divine wisdom, people had the capacity for self-healing. Anthroposophy developed from a system of philosophic and religious thought called theosophy (see Theosophy ).
Steiner was born on Feb. 27, 1861, in Kraljevica, near Rijeka, in what is now Croatia. He studied natural science at the University of Vienna, and edited the scientific writings of the German romantic poet Johann von Goethe from 1889 through 1896. Steiner included many ideas of romanticism, such as its emphasis on imagination and intuition, in anthroposophy. In 1902, Steiner became head of the German section of the Theosophical Society. In 1912, he founded the Anthroposophical Society. The next year, he established the society’s international headquarters in Dornach, near Basel, Switzerland. Steiner wrote on a wide range of topics, including special education, mental illness, agriculture, religion, and architecture. He died on March 30, 1925.
