Questions of Courage

Bergson, intrigued by the riddle in the differences between lived experience and abstract explanation, forged a remarkable path of insight and exploration through his life. This short video offers a short impression of the riddles that he treated like seeds, which he grew into unique vision of evolution and human freedom, and the origin of matter as creative life.     References:  Henri Bergson, C...

This video could be of interest for young people studying in the academy  who are considering exploring spiritual approaches to understanding and knowledge. Williams introduces a handful of scholars who have dedicated significant time to researching and publishing on Rudolf Steiner’s work and legacy, and why research in this area can take courage.      References:  Christian Clement preface to: Ru...

I have read two longer book reviews in recent months, both in influential journals, of the growing consensus that human freedom is an illusion. The consequences elude me, and I turn to satire for relief. “Scientists around the world reach consensus that freedom is an illusion, they have now turned to the question of what the significance of this conclusion can be given they are unsure exactly what...

A Young Man encounters Vladimir Soloviev    This video tells the story of the effect Vladimir Soloviev’s work and poetry on a young man from the USA and reflects on the significance of meeting other nations and language groups through art, culture.    References   Vladimir Soloviev: Russian Mystic by Paul Marshall Allen   The Meaning of Love by Vladimir Soloviev   The Justification of the Good by...

In this episode the upcoming 100 years Rudolf Steiner Conference at Harvard is discussed, the research of one of its main organizers, Dan McKanan, and its potential significance.    Webpage for conference:  https://pes.hds.harvard.edu/steinerconference    References:  Ed. Johannes Kronenberg and Lammerts van Bueren  (2025) On the Earth We Want to Live . Springer Nature, forthcoming    Dan McKanan...

This episode of Questions of Courage offers reflections on the contemporary Russian novelist and writer Victor Pelevin, and particularly the intersection in his work of aesthetics and Buddhist orientations of liberation. References:  BOMB Magazine | Victor Pelevin . https://bombmagazine.org/articles/2002/04/01/victor-pelevin/   Pelevin. Generation P ; Curtea Veche Publishing.  - The Blue Lantern ;...

In this episode the new Pegasus Project is introduced which involves the fabrication of a new generation of analogue projection instruments, the creation of an ensemble of light artists, the collaboration with an ensemble of singers and a tour of schools and youth groups. Reflecting on current screen culture and technology use among young people an unusual area of opportunity presents itself here,...

Nationalism is one of the most powerful aspects of political life, connected with the defining conflicts of today. This episode is dedicated to exploring the differences between nations and states, how they are confused, and how they have come to be seen as intrinsically bound up together in recent centuries. While there is a largely unconscious conventional notion that nations should ideally have...

This episode explores some of author Marilynne Robinson’s thoughts about the importance of seeing people as spiritual beings and how this relates to the history of civil and political rights in North America, and especially the USA. These thoughts are connected with current tensions within both US universities and society at large, and the role that artistic education plays in being able to experi...

This episode explores challenging experiences that young people can have when they first enter college and university with enthusiasm for existential, heartfelt questions. It is not uncommon for young people to feel that the attitudes and methods they meet in the classroom and their professors cannot reach deep enough into the questions they are most passionate about and driven to explore. This ca...

Currently in the USA there is a “revolution of common sense” underway under the banner of nationalism, competition for natural resources and economic growth without regard for ecological limitations. In the last two episodes Steiner’s notion of aesthetic culture, that embraces not only the arts and humanities but also natural science and economics, was presented as an alternate vision for a revolu...

Building on the previous episode this session explores the connection between natural science, as intuitive, empirical understanding, and Steiner’s associative economics, particularly the idea of true price. The result is a picture of a revolution of common sense that counters nationalism, fosters sober judgement across from natural and social conditions of life and encourages global, voluntary co...

Talk of a revolution of common sense in the USA and around the world is focused on nationalism, economic competition and development without regard of environmental and ecological considerations. This episode suggests the revolution offers a false promise even while the widespread appeal of the idea of a revolution of common sense is deeply justified. In this episode Goethe’s natural scientific me...

While the idea of multi-dimensional beings is discussed in the congress of the United States in open hearings, it can take courage to try to understand Ufology and experience. This session explores recent research, especially on UFO experiencers, by sociologist D.W. Pasulka, and Rudolf Steiner’s presentation of late Medieval consciousness in Leading Thoughts, situating them in a larger understandi...

Even though many people feel it is meaningful to speak of the light and colors when trying to express something deeper in human nature, in most places we are asking to be judged as superstitious or naïve if we insist on speaking about the spiritual aura. In many places it is perhaps most associated in some places with traveling carnival culture and the desire to be entertained. One might have one...

How can we contemplate history with an openness for its greater meaning? Many young people who are studying in the social sciences or anthropology may feel drawn to ask this question, but today, without a doubt, it takes courage to think about this. This segment focuses on the development of perspective painting during the European Renaissance, looking back toward eastern iconographic painting and...

People all around the world watched the inauguration in the USA, a country with so much wealth, influence and power, hoping to gain some understanding of what is happening. What is the deeper meaning of the “revolution of common sense” promised by the incoming administration? What does this turn of events express? How can they be understood and what do they demand of us? This episode explores dyna...

At the Section’s international gathering of 2024 in the Netherlands one of the tasks that was explored was creating pictorial expressions of anthroposophy. Many of the basic works of anthroposophy, in the form of books and writing, were not written for young people. Over the years this task has been taken up by different individuals in different ways. An event in February at the Goetheanum is also...

What are the options today for students who are looking for centers of learning defined by an interest in the living spirit in the human being and the world? Not long ago they may have found themselves in the humanities departments around the world, but today they might be drawn to contemplative studies programs. This is connected with two trends in higher education that can be traced back to cris...

Saul Bellow and the Marginalization of the Spirit    The public image of Saul Bellow is a testimony of the tendency to marginalize spiritual orientations and ideas, and the courage it takes to engage with them. Bellow is one of the most influential and celebrated writers in the English language from the last century, winning national books awards, the Nobel prize and a Pulitzer. This episode explo...

Really, what if we are all coming back?   Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of color blindness, wrote an article where she muses on the possible reality of reincarnation and karma, and what implications this might have for social and political life. She shares how the questions arose organically for her when she was young, though she eventually dismissed...

In this Episode conversations with Kelley Buhles are explored which focused on the social and economic dimensions of gift money. The idea of three distinct types of money is introduced, purchase money, loan money and gift money and the potential of gift money is explored. This episode shares from one of the conversations taking place as preparation for the upcoming event: “Working for Freedom and...

In this Episode conversations with Susan Witt and David Fix from the Schumacher Center for a new Economics are explored which focused on the social and economic dimensions of land ownership. The episode moves through a simple and elegant characterization of economics shared by Susan, how to understand what a commodity is and how treating land like a commodity unleashes anti-social dynamics in the...

This year, 100 years after the first “World Power Conference”, the World Goetheanum Association and the Youth Section of the Independent School for Spiritual Science are collaborating on a special event, an intergenerational conversation about global economic cooperation and peace. It is an event for everyone who is interested in working towards a vision of a global economy dedicated to cooperativ...

This episode touches on the will, meditation, and the possibility of developing spiritually in a way that undermines our ability of love, responsibility and compassion in life. This is not only relevant for young people who are developing an inner practice, but also for countless others who are navigating existential inner difficulties for reasons related to experiences with psychoactive substance...