Study - Participation Of The Reader

Philosophy Of Freedom Study

Participation Of The Reader
Various kinds of study material from a variety of writers has been gathered and organized into the Philosophy Of Freedom Study Guide. The views of others is helpful in the study of The Philosophy Of Freedom, but the objective of study is to stimulate thinking so the participant makes the ideas their own. The participation of the reader is a critical part of the study. A passive reader will find the book incomprehensible, will get sleepy, and likely not finish it.

"Readers often stop reading the book soon after they begin it for the simple reason they would like to read it as they do any other book. Other popular books are read on a chaise lounge letting thought pictures pass in review before one’s mind." Rudolf Steiner

While reading The Philosophy of Freedom you can decide to read attentively and struggle to understand, judge, and apply the material or you can let your attention wander. You may half get some points, awaken again with effort, then lapse into partial focus. At each moment you are deciding whether to think or not.

Choosing to focus and direct the thinking attention is the first step toward freedom. Thinking will raise questions and provide insights, at some point it will intensify to be an experiencing with inner shocks, tensions and resolutions.

In The Philosophy Of Freedom, 'freedom' is the expression of one's individual spirit. The “freedom of expression” indicates an inner conquest of outer restraints. This inner conquest is the theme of The Philosophy Of Freedom. Steiner drew attention to this in a lecture he gave at Oxford in 1922, where he said with reference to the book,

"Therefore today we need above all a view of the world based on Freiheit -- one can use this word in German, but here in England one must put it differently because the word 'freedom' has a different meaning -- one must say a view of the world based on spiritual activity, on action, on thinking and feeling that express the individual human spirit." Rudolf Steiner

Another participation objective is building a Philosophy Of Freedom learning community by sharing and encouraging each other. Truth is found by approaching a topic from many sides, so a diverse worldwide community of individuals who express themselves is a valuable resource.

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Participation Of The Reader
Principles Of Freedom
Thought Training
Reading Comprehension
Barrier To Learning