Soul life

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The soul life, which unfolds as a more or less conscious inner life as an independent mental inner world in the soul of today's man, is divided into the three basic soul forces of thinking, feeling and willing. This threefold structure of the soul's life was first clearly described by Johannes Nikolaus Tetens (1736-1807), who aimed for a "psychological analysis of the soul" according to scientific methods.

Threefolding of soul life

The threefolding of soul life has only gradually developed. Originally the three soul forces were very closely connected with each other, but in the course of human evolution they have become more and more clearly differentiated from each other and this development will continue so that in the future thinking, feeling and willing will become completely independent of each other and can only be held together by the free act of the I. Only then will the human I have gained complete dominion over the soul life. Only then will the human I have gained complete dominion over the life of the soul. Through appropriate spiritual training, something of this future development is anticipated.

This is also connected with the development of the three soul members of man. In the sentient soul, thinking, feeling and willing are still very much interwoven. In the intellectual or mind soul, the will is already clearly set apart, while thinking and feeling are still closely connected with each other. Only with the consciousness soul does the complete separation of all three soul forces begin.

This threefold structure of soul life must be taken into account today in social life through a corresponding threefolding of the social organism. The organisation of economic life corresponds to thinking, legal life to feeling and spiritual life to the free creative will:

„In many respects the whole course of life of human development is similar to the course of life of the individual human being. Only things are shifted. What man consciously undergoes when he wants to see the spiritual world, the crossing of the threshold, all humanity must undergo unconsciously in this fifth post-Atlantean period. It has no choice in the matter, it goes through it unconsciously. Not the individual human being, but humanity and the individual human being with humanity. What does that mean?

What works together in man in thinking, feeling and willing, will in the future take on a separate character, will assert itself in different fields. We are just now in the process of humanity unconsciously passing through a significant gate, which the power of sight can perceive very well. Humanity goes through this crossing of the threshold in such a way that the areas of thinking, feeling and willing diverge. This, however, imposes obligations on us, the obligation to shape the outer life in such a way that man can also undergo this change of his inner life in the outer life. As thinking becomes more independent in the life of mankind, we must establish a ground on which thinking can come to a healthier effect, we must further create a ground on which feeling can come to independent formation, and also a ground on which willing can come to special formation. What has hitherto worked chaotically in public life must now be divided into three areas. These three areas in public life are: economic life, state life or legal life and cultural life or spiritual life. This demand for threefolding is connected with the secret of the development of humanity in this age.“ (Lit.:GA 193, p. 118)

Literatur
References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated.
Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com.
Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books
A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works
Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English.
Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold
steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA)
Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.
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