Hi Daniel, you asked:
"Are we agreed that the phrase "Root Race" only ever occurs in the chapter titles of GA 121, and therefore does not go back to Steiner?"

Peter Staudenmaier:
No, we are not in agreement about that. My copy of GA 121 contains no chapter titles whatsoever. In the English translation, "root races" occurs both in the titles and in the body of the text. There is a helpful note by the Gesamtausgabe editors on p. 572 of GA 266a, Aus den Inhalten der esoterischen Stunden, about Steiner's racial terminology; the editors equate "Wurzelrasse" and "Hauptrasse" in Steiner's usage. So did Steiner, of course.

Daniel:
Ok. Let's try this again. Are we agreed that the phrase "Root Race" (specifically as the German "Wurzelrassen") does not occure in the German text of GA 121?" (Yes, "Hauptrassen" occurs twice, but we can look at that later).
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Daniel wrote:
"Can you tell me where I can read more about the wondrous "Nordic spirit" in GA 121? I seem to have missed it."

Peter Staudenmaier:
The latter half of the book is about the spiritual mysteries of Nordic man. There you can read all about "the Germanic and Nordic Folk Spirit" (e.g. p. 162 or p. 168), the "Folk Spirit of the North" (p. 172), and "the Folk Spirit who rules over the Northern lands." (p. 183)

Daniel:
Somehow, when I read the phrase "nordic spirit" I think of something like "esprit de corps" or "that's a nice horse, it really has spirit" or in this case, "Those are great men, they possess nordic spirit." If the Spirit is supposed to be a single being, shouldn't it be capitalized or something, do differentiate it from the generic reading?
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Daniel wrote:
"I have become quite interested in the heiarchy of planetary forces. Could you perhaps explain how I am missing it in GA 121?"

Peter Staudenmaier:
I don't know how you are missing it. Maybe you and I disagree about what hierarchy is. I think his description of the "racial character" of black, yellow, brown, and red people in relation to Europeans is obviously hierarchical. In the same volume I recommended above, Aus den Inhalten der esoterischen Stunden, Steiner designates Jupiter as "higher" (pp. 302-307) and says that the goal of esoteric contemplation is "to develop oneself into Jupiter consciousness" ("sich in das Jupiterbewusstsein hineinzuentwickeln", p. 307).

Daniel:
So a five page gap between the word "high" and "Jupiter consciousness" is supposed to establish that Jupiter is above other planets (even though the other planets appear not to be mentioned in this context). And this establishes a racial heiarchy? I'd be curious to hear more about this. What are the designations (adjectives used to describe) the other planetary consciousnesses? And how does a planetary consciousness relate to planetary physical formative forces? I'd very much like to know.

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Daniel wrote:
"What sports are banned in European Waldorf Schools?"

Peter Staudenmaier:
Sports where a ball is kicked.

Daniel:
Ok. So is the ban in place in all European Waldorf Schools as the phrase implies? If I find one counter-example does that invalidate the statement?

What is the mechanism by which this ban is communicated and enforced? Are there sanctions for breaking it?

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Daniel wrote:
"What is your source for evaluating the political leanings of some 2 million of Steiner's followers?"

Peter Staudenmaier:
Where do you think I do this? I don't even agree that there are 2 million Steiner followers in the world.

Daniel:
Ok. Perhaps you could define how you determine someone to be a follower of Steiner for the purposes of determining their political leanings, and perhaps say a few things about how many you think there are overall and in the various categories.

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Daniel wrote:
"I'm curious about the organization of Waldorf Schools in Europe. In what sense are they a network?"

Peter Staudenmaier:
There are lots of networks of Waldorf schools in Europe. Detlef works for one of them.

Daniel:
Ok. Could you be more specific? How are they organized?

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Daniel wrote:
"Why do you feel that Steiner's 7 years in Weimar were not intellectually formative?"

Peter Staudenmaier:
Because he largely recapitulated the main themes of German Idealism during that period, in my view, in contrast to the Vienna and Berlin periods.

Daniel:
Just to be clear then, the introductions to Goethe's scientific writings, Steiner's PhD thesis and Epistomology, and the Philosphy of Freedom are irrelevant to Steiner's "theosophical-anthroposophical" period? Or do you mean that he didn't accomplish anything new with these.

Also, could you tell me a little about Steiner's first time through German Idealism (a recapitulation to me implies that he was going back to something he had previously worked on.)

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Daniel wrote:
"Can you describe a typical "anthroposophical ritual" to me? I would love to hear about them!"

Peter Staudenmaier:
I don't know where you live, but if there's a biodynamic farm somewhere in the vicinity, you might ask to watch while they make one of the preparations. It's pretty boring, if you ask me; lots of stirring and changing direction and so forth.

Daniel:
Oh, yea, I remember doing that last year (my wife and I were curious where our vegetables came from). That is a ritual? It is a bunch of people stirring water in buckets. I don't recall anything ceremonious about it.

Are there any other rituals you know of?

Daniel Hindes