Platonism

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Platonism in the narrower sense refers to the teachings of Plato, whose followers are accordingly called Platonists. In a broader sense, it also includes later ancient, medieval or modern poets, philosophers, theologians, church teachers, etc. who adopted only parts of Plato's teachings or combined them with new (e.g. Jewish or Christian) elements, as was the case in Middle Platonism and Neoplatonism.

Rudolf Steiner's fundamental critique of Platonism

With regard to Goethe's world view, Rudolf Steiner expressed his fundamental criticism of Platonist dualism:

„Platonism is the conviction that the goal of all striving for knowledge must be the appropriation of the ideas that support the world and form its foundation. Anyone who cannot awaken this conviction in himself does not understand the Platonic worldview. - But insofar as Platonism has intervened in the development of Western thought, it shows another side. Plato did not stop at emphasising the realisation that in human observation the world of sense becomes an illusion if the light of the world of ideas is not thrown upon it, but by his presentation of this fact he encouraged the opinion as if the world of sense for itself, apart from man, were an illusory world and true reality could only be found in the ideas. From this opinion arises the question: how do idea and sense world (nature) come to each other outside of man? Whoever cannot recognise an idea-less sense world outside of man, for him the question of the relationship between idea and sense world is one that must be sought and solved within the human being. And so the matter stands before Goethe's worldview. For the latter, the question: "what relation exists outside of man between idea and sense-world?" is an unhealthy one, because for it there is no sense-world (nature) without idea outside of man. Only man can detach the idea from the sense world for himself and thus imagine nature without an idea.“ (Lit.:GA 6, p. 28f)

Literature
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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