Anthroposophy and Ecofascism 21

Continuing my examiniation of paragraphy 6 of Peter Staudenmaier's 'Anthroposophy and Ecofascism':

Staudenmaier's obvious contempt for his subject is quite evident in his calling Steiner's various activities before age 36 "dabble[ing] in a number of unusual causes.” Steiner's seven meticulous volumes of Goethe's scientific writings completed while officially in the employ of the Goethe Archives were universally praised by the scholars of his day. On leaving the archives, he was praised with the following words: “His work, which combined critical acumen with actual achievement, has gained the commendation of all those best qualified to judge.” (Cited in Johannes Hemleben, Rudolf Steiner: An Illustrated Biography, London 2000, pages 70-71.) That Steiner's groundbreaking work on epistemology, both in his book Truth and Science (expanded from his PhD thesis) and A Theory of Knowledge Implicit in Goethe's Worldview certainly goes well beyond “dabbling” is evident to anyone who has actually read them. Likewise his book on Nietzsche was praised and criticized for its content, but no one leveled the accusation of dilettantism. For a discussion of the reception of Steiner's book Friedrich Nietzsche, Ein Kämpfer Gegen sein Zeit see Christoph Lindenberg, Rudolf Steiner: Eine Biographie, Stuttgart 1997 page 254. “In the press there appeared positive and negative reviews in large numbers. The book rather quickly required another printing.”)