Author: Iwao Takahashi

Hello everyone. This is Shoji Shimura from Atelier Shimura. This week, I would like to introduce "Reading the Core of Social Issues: An Introduction to Steiner's Social Theory 2" by Iwao Takahashi, a leading authority on Steiner studies in Japan.

"Reading 'The Core of Social Issues'" by Iwao Takahashi, published by Shunjusha (2024)

【table of contents】
Lecture 1: When we change, society changes
Lecture 2: The future of globalization
Lecture 3: The Spiritual Life of Modern People
Lecture 4: Theosophy and Social Issues Lecture 5: Japanese Culture at the Base of Society Lecture 6: Spiritualization of Everyday Life, Solitude and Community
Afterword

This book is a sequel to "Reading the Future of Society: An Introduction to Steiner's Social Theory ①," which I introduced last time. "Reading the Future of Society" was Takahashi's commentary on Steiner's lecture, "The Future of Society." The book I'm introducing this time is a compilation of Takahashi's lecture on Steiner's book, "The Core of Social Problems." It is published by Shunjusha.

Post-World War I Europe and Steiner's Challenge

Steiner's book The Heart of the Social Question is an important companion to The Future of Society. It was written in 1919, just after the end of World War I. Europe was in a state of great devastation, and Germany, a defeated nation, was in a particularly serious situation.

How can we rebuild this devastated Europe? In this book, Steiner discusses the path to social regeneration at a time when modern values are reaching a dead end.

While The Future of Society was a series of lectures aimed at a general audience, The Heart of Social Problems can be considered Steiner's major work on social theory, in which he systematically discusses how to apply his own epistemology to real society.

The tripartite theory of social organisms and its two central themes

The central idea in "The Heart of Social Problems" is called the "tripartite theory of the social organism." This is a perspective that sees society as a single organism (living organism). Steiner argued that society is made up of three spheres: "spiritual life," "legal life," and "economic life," and that while each is independent, they function healthily by interacting with each other.

In developing this tripartite theory of the social organism, Steiner discusses two central themes.

The first theme is that the foundation of society is not economic life but "spiritual life."

Around the time of World War I, Europe was hit by an economic crisis and financial panic. However, Steiner argued that the true crisis of civilization was not economic, but rather that the fundamental problem was a "crisis of the spirit." He discusses what this crisis of the spirit is and how we can escape from it.

The second theme is "social will." This asserts that we must gather together the will each of us has for society into a social will for all of humanity, and then build a social philosophy based on that.

Steiner's concept is unique. First, each person presents to the other their inner vision of society, and after various adjustments (dharma life is deeply involved here), they are integrated into one great social will for all of humanity. He placed great importance on the process of how to get from an individual's social will to the social will of all of humanity.

An era in which the soul's home was lost

So, what kind of awareness of the times was behind "The Core of Social Issues"?

Steiner points out that in the modern and contemporary era, each individual soul has lost its sense of where it belongs. The period from the 19th to the 20th century is also known as the "age of loss of home," and it is truly an era in which our souls have lost their anchorage.

The reason for this is that a mechanistic view of the world has become dominant since the Industrial Revolution and the Scientific Revolution. When the view that "the world is governed by physical laws and does not have an invisible soul" spread, we lost our sense of connection with a greater being or with others. As a result, people began to harbor lonely souls. Steiner diagnosed this as the spiritual state of Europe after World War I.

"Incarnation" into society as a living being

However, Steiner says that the place to which we belong is originally "society." And by "society," he does not simply mean a legal system or political structure. Rather, he refers to "society as a living organism" made up of individual human beings. This is what is meant by "organism" in the theory of social organismism.

Steiner stated that "society is a living body," and believed that the soul of each of us should be "incarnated" (the soul inhabits) this body called society. However, he pointed out that modern people are unable to incarnate into the body called society properly, and that their souls are floating around, with no place to return to.

The situation is becoming even more serious. We have gone beyond the stage of feeling lonely because we have no place to return to, and we no longer seek a body (society) to return to in the first place. Living in isolation from society has become the norm, and there is no need for a home for the soul. This kind of nihilism had already progressed deeply in the early 20th century.

The spread of commercialism and human dignity

So why has this situation occurred? One of the main reasons is said to be that we live in an age where everything is commercialized.

Not only have things been commodified, but our "labor" has also been commodified. Human time is bought and sold as a commodity in the form of wage labor. We are now in an age where cultural activities and consideration for others are also traded as commodities under the guise of services.

When society as a whole is swept up in the wave of commodification, the dominant principle is "profitism." Under profitism, the pursuit of profit becomes the ultimate goal, and everything else is treated as a means to that end. Even human life and consideration for others become means to generate profit. This is a situation in which values that should be important are reversed.

In a society where profit-making is rampant, can we really maintain the dignity of each and every human being, the freedom of the soul, and the spiritual life of each individual? The title "The Core of Social Issues" poses the question: "Can we live with dignity in a world dominated by profit-making?" This is not a question of money, but rather a question of whether our spirits are free and whether we have been able to incarnate into the society we truly desire.

What is "social will"? - Awakening to inner society

Based on this awareness of this problem, Steiner emphasizes the importance of "social will." What is social will?

It is not about thinking about "how to adapt" to the existing society. General education is based on the premise of the existing society and teaches how to adapt to it. It is training to live well, not about drawing out the "ideal society that should be" that lies deep within one's inner self.

The social will that Steiner speaks of is different. It is about awakening to the "society within me," that is, the unique view of society that each of us holds within us.

The first step to this is to become aware of the fundamental demands we have on society. We usually suppress our urgent demands on society because, if they were to surface, it would only increase our sense of discomfort with society as it is today. First, it is important to recognize that these demands lie within ourselves.

Who is the driver of social reform?

We suppress our inner social will and live in accordance with the existing society. However, in Steiner's time, European society was collapsing due to World War I, and was at a major turning point.

Such times were certainly difficult, but if we looked at them from another perspective, they were also times of opportunity for us to build the future of society with our own hands.

Furthermore, the actors who will open up society are not the leaders, such as politicians or business leaders. Steiner argues that it is important for us, as nameless individuals, to reform society based on our own will for society. The true driver of social reform is the inner will for society of each individual.

The underlying crisis of "spiritual life"

As I mentioned earlier, the most important issue we, as the leaders of society, must address is not economic life, but the "spiritual life" that lies at the heart of it. Steiner states that spiritual life is in crisis, but what exactly does he mean?

Here, he draws attention to the definition of the term "spiritual life," noting that the "spirit" he is referring to is some idealized spiritual world separate from our everyday lives.

Rather, it is the spiritual world that is experienced in everyday life. Steiner also called this "spirituality that has become the content of life." A spirituality that forms a worldview that responds to life's challenges and satisfies the needs of the soul. This is what Steiner means by spiritual life.

The spirit as a "representation" rather than a concept

To gain a deeper understanding of this point, Steiner distinguishes between "concepts" and "representations."

"Spirit as a concept" is an objective, universal word, a symbol, so to speak. Like a dictionary definition, it has the same meaning for everyone, but it is far removed from the deep, personal realization of the concept. Conceptualization is an important intellectual activity, but once conceptualized, the word becomes a circulating symbol and tends to become disconnected from one's own living spirit.

The spiritual life that Steiner emphasizes is not this abstracted spirit, but the "spirit as representation." Representations are very personal and intense images and emotions that exist before they are conceptualized, and are essentially things that do not become words.

Therefore, spiritual life is not some lofty ideal, but rather the living reality that lies dormant deep within oneself.

The starting point was a sense of discomfort with society

Steiner says that tackling social problems begins with a need that arises from within us, a sense of "discomfort."

When we feel uncomfortable with society, we tend to think, "It's my fault for feeling uncomfortable, so I need to change the way I feel." However, Steiner teaches the opposite.

This sense of discomfort is an important clue that connects to one's inner social will. Asking oneself, "Why do I feel this sense of discomfort toward this society?" is the trigger to unleash one's suppressed social will. Those who feel a strong sense of discomfort or urgent demands toward society can become the main actors in tackling social problems.

This is completely different from a top-down approach in which leaders reform society. Leaders may be able to reconcile interests and carry out economic reforms. However, reforms that overcome the crisis in spiritual life that Steiner points out are impossible unless each individual expresses their inner will for society. In that sense, it is only each and every one of us who can reform this social problem.

The role of education: liberation of the mind

How can we discover our inner social will and direct it towards society? One important way to do this is through education.

The purpose of education in Steiner is to discover one's inner social will, which is the opposite of typical school education, which aims to teach how to adapt to the existing society.

What Steiner's educational philosophy has in common is the liberation of each of our spiritual lives from state control and economic demands. Steiner believes that the very idea of "how to get along in this society" or "how to make money" already places the mind in a state of spiritual dependence on the state and the economy.

Rather than "adapting" to society, we must encounter the will that springs from within our very being. To achieve this, we must first free our minds from the constraints of the state and the economy, and the true essence of education is to help us achieve this.

Independence and contribution to society

I would like to point out two things about Steiner education.

First, it is important to think proactively and proactively. It is necessary to develop a proactive, rather than reactive, attitude.

Second, it is important to cultivate a sense of joy in being useful to society. Here, "society" does not necessarily refer to the existing social system, but rather to the public interest that one personally aspires to.

In other words, it is about cultivating a sensitivity that brings joy to dedicating one's life to some great ideal that transcends oneself. Rather than selfishly pursuing one's own interests, one must cherish the connection between oneself and something greater than oneself. This is the inherent sociality of human beings.

Each individual must discover and encounter what "society" means when we say "being useful to society." From this perspective, Steiner develops a theory of society that starts from each and every one of us.

This time, we introduced the first half of the book as Part 1. Next time, we will continue with the rest of this article.

This book is an explanation of Steiner's difficult writings by Iwao Takahashi. It is primarily a transcription of a series of lectures given over a period of about a year in 2010. Additionally, an appendix includes a lecture entitled "Loneliness and Community" given in 2022. Professor Takahashi passed away in 2024, but the precious lecture notes he left behind are currently being published as a three-volume series by Shunjusha.

Part 2 is here

This is a reading guide by Shoji Shimura (CEO of Atelier Shimura).
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