Steiner’s Trinitarian View and the Philosophy of Mind: A Critique of Robert Lawrence Kuhn’s Landscape of Consciousness Taxonomy
Publication information:
Abstract
In a recent taxonomy of different philosophies of mind, Robert Lawrence Kuhn classified Rudolf Steiner’s view as a mind-body dualism. We argue that this classification is incorrect. Rather, Steiner’s view is trinitarian and represents a unification of monism and dualism. Hence the trinitarian conception of the human being in Steiner not only challenges Kuhn’s taxonomic placement of Steiner’s view but indicates a potential fundamental limitation of the whole taxonomy. Furthermore, since other thinkers (such as Whitehead, de Chardin, and others) may potentially be classified as trinitarian, Kuhn’s taxonomy arguably needs revision. In fact, the dualism vs. monism debate mirrors limitations in current ways of thinking. The trinitarian view offers a different approach to “hard problem of consciousness”, understanding the differentiation between mind and body, and the philosophic problems that arise from this differentiation, as part of human development.
Presenter Biography
Terje Sparby is a philosopher and meditation researcher. His main areas of research are German idealism, Steiner, and first-person methods. He studied philosophy at the University of Oslo and received his PhD in philosophy at Heidelberg University in 2012. The topic was Hegel’s conception of the determinate negation. Terje has been a postdoc at the Humboldt University and the Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, and a visiting scholar at the Mind & Life Institute. He did his habilitation at the Witten/Herdecke University, where he worked as an assistant professor. Currently, Terje is a professor (full) of philosophy and research director at the Steiner University College in Oslo. He is a member of the board of Steiner Studies, has contributed to the critical edition of Steiner’s works, and co-edits RoSE (Research on Steiner Education). His current research projects focus on advanced meditation, inner work among Waldorf educators, and Steiner’s trinitarianism.