Proceedings Colloquium on World History - Waldorf Research Institute

Symptoms
Betty Staley
l. Printing press-see earlier section of these proceedings
2. Carl Jung’s letter to Freud in which he disagreed with Freud’s emphasis
on the libido
Behind this symptom lies Freud’s conscious exploration of human
consciousness and his attempt to penetrate it in a scientific way. His emphasis
on sexuality has influenced modern psychology and advertising until today.
Yet Jung disagreed with this emphasis. Freud had selected Jung as his
successor, called him the “crown prince.” Jung knew that when his letter
reached Freud, the mentor-relationship would cease. He became paralyzed
whenever he took his pen in hand. After several months of struggling with
this dilemma, he wrote the letter. Freud broke the relationship, and Jung
went on to have a creative period in which he explored the collective unconscious.
On the archetypal level, this letter represents the fragile relationship
that exists whenever a student challenges his or her mentor.
3. Rudolf Steiner’s lecture at the Giordano Bruno Society
Up until this time Rudolf Steiner had not openly stated the existence
of the spiritual world. He had just returned from London where he had
met with the Theosophical Society. He was now going to be able to speak of
his spiritual research to the Society. When he came “out of the closet” at the
Bruno Society two events followed. He was no longer regarded as the upand-coming
philosopher of the period, not asked to lecture to scientific or
materialist groups. On the other hand, those who understood what he was
saying connected with him and became students. It was a turning point
leading to the development of Anthroposophy. Yet Steiner risked everything
in doing it.
4. The T and O map of the Middle Ages contrasted with mathematical
maps of the Enlightenment period
The T and O maps showed the earth as the body of Christ. This is
a symptom of the human being’s relationship to the earth at that time. It
was a picture of Christ’s task in coming to the earth, uniting himself with it,
and redeeming it. Jerusalem was seen as the heart of the earth (and as Christ’s
heart.) This contrasts with the mathematical map of the 17th century based
on a grid of longitude and latitude by degrees.
5. The Hebrew commandment “Thou shalt make no graven images.”
This is a symptom of the beginning of the change from image thinking
to concept thinking. The process of wiping out picture thinking was a
significant step in the human being’s ability to worship an idea instead of an
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