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Dedicated to the Spirit of Franz Brentano (1838-1917)

Franz Brentano

“Those who knew Franz Brentano, even if only through his work, saw him as representing modern man, struggling with the riddle of the universe … he was first and foremost a thinker, one who did not allow his thinking to wander at random … Franz Brentano himself estimated that his work on psychology would fill five volumes, but only the first volume was published. It is fully understandable to someone who knew him well why no subsequent volumes appeared … In order to find answers to the questions facing him after the completion of the first volume of Psychology he needed spiritual knowledge. But spiritual science he could not accept and, as he was above all an honest man, he abandoned writing the subsequent volumes. The venture came to a full stop and thus remains a fragment.” — Rudolf Steiner, from Aspects of Human Evolution, Lecture Five, 1917.

Now I See… Update, April 2013

In addition to the guidelines in the Introduction (below) for appropriate books to review for the Now I See… bLog, recent trends in the selection of books are pointing to new non-fiction categories that will be sure to be of interest to reviewers and readers alike:

Books by authors whose keys of discovery are drawn from Anthroposophy, both recently published books, or “classics,” such as the books of Emil Bock.

Books in the category of spirituality, independent of Anthroposophy yet in relative harmony with it, e.g., books about Edgar Cayce and his work.

Books that describe the spiritual or clairvoyant experiences of the authors, experiences out of full and striving consciousness and as measured by the high standards established within spiritual science, or those that occur unexpectedly or in crises, such as the near-death experience. Examples of such books would be The Pendle Zodiac by Thomas Sharpe, and To Heaven and Back by Mary C. Neal, M.D.

Introduction

Now I See … is a page and an opportunity for Anthroposophists to present reviews of non-anthroposophical books in such categories as non-fiction, scholastic or academic, history, science, biography, autobiography, and the paranormal.  The books do not need to be current or recently published, and most should raise the disturbing question as to why Rudolf Steiner’s name — or Anthroposophy or Spiritual Science — is not included in the index and in the contents, and when the absence of these resources or answers is felt to be something of an acute or tragic loss, or at the very least as a serious omission. Another kind of book appropriate for review will be of interest to Anthroposophists due to its timely and relevant subject (such as Soul Survivor: The Reincarnation of a WWII Fighter Pilot, by Bruce and Andrea Leininger, about their son, James Leininger).

The reviews submitted should not be critical, but should be written with a thoughtful, deeply questioning and sympathetic point of view, similar to Rudolf Steiner’s quotation about the work of Franz Brentano, above.