Psychism

Psychism (from Greek: ψυχή psychḗ "soul"; originally "breath") or panpsychism (Greek: πᾶν pan "all") is one of the twelve fundamental worldviews distinguished by Rudolf Steiner and stands between pneumatism and idealism. In the zodiac it corresponds to the sign of Pisces. Unlike the idealist, the psychist sees not only ideas, but psychic, spiritual things in general as the basis of the world, but cannot yet, like pneumatism, penetrate to the existence of individual spiritual beings.

„Idealism, however, can now be increased. In our time there are some people who try to increase idealism. They find ideas in the world. If one finds ideas, then there must also be such a kind of being in the world in which ideas could live. Ideas could not so easily live in any external thing. Ideas cannot hang in the air, as it were. It is true that in the 19th century there was a belief that ideas dominate history. But this was only an obscurity; for ideas as such have no power to act. Therefore one cannot speak of ideas in history. He who realises that ideas, if they are to exist at all, are bound to a being which can have ideas, will no longer be a mere idealist, but will advance to the assumption that ideas are bound to beings. He becomes a psychist, and his worldview is psychism. The psychist, who again can bring tremendous ingenuity to his worldview, comes to this worldview also only through a one-sidedness which he may possibly notice.“ (Lit.:GA 151, p. 39f)

Literature

• Rudolf Steiner: Der menschliche und der kosmische Gedanke, GA 151 (1990), ISBN 3-7274-1510-X English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org

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