Anthroposophy

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌænθɹəˈpɑsəfi/

Definitions

1. A spiritual philosophy that seeks to understand human nature through personal insight and the study of the universe's spiritual aspects
2. A belief system advocating for the development of individual spiritual consciousness and the understanding of humanity's place in the cosmos
3. An approach to knowledge that integrates spiritual observation and human experiences to comprehend the wider connections of existence

Etymology: Long before Rudolf Steiner gave the word its modern meaning, it was already a Renaissance coinage. The Latin "anthroposophia" appears in the writings of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, who died in 1535, and later in those of the English alchemist Thomas Vaughan, who died in 1666. Both used it for a kind of wisdom about humankind, though neither meant the spiritual movement that bears the name today. The word is built from two Greek parts: "anthrōpos," meaning "human being," and "sophia," meaning "wisdom." The first element appears in English through the combining form anthropo-, while the second gives us the -sophy ending found in words like "philosophy." The modern sense came from the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, who lived from 1861 to 1925. His German term "Anthroposophie" spread widely from the 1910s, and English speakers adopted it in that form. Steiner's version centres on developing individual spiritual awareness and on understanding humanity's place within the wider cosmos.