This post is going to be highly speculative and unusual.
I predict that 2021 will be even stranger than 2020. The reason has to do with Rudolf Steiner's ideas. I believe Steiner had genuine insight, but also his lectures are full of ideas which it is difficult to either confirm or reject. So, the best way I have found to read or listen to Steiner is to view his writings not as an essay, where each statement is meant to support the main point, but a collection of ideas. If any statement or idea proves memorable or seems intuitively plausible, then I will think more about it and see where it leads. And that is what this post is an attempt to do.
Steiner has a vast schema concerning past and future ages in the evolution of the earth and human beings. Currently we are in the Fifth of the Post-Atlantean Epochs, of which there are supposed to be seven in total. Each of these Epochs is said to last 2160 years. Further, each of the Post-Atlantean Epochs are supposed to have a particular quality and characteristic which it is the task of the people in that epoch to develop. After thinking over the matter, I believe it is better to regard the epochs as spiritual qualities that will manifest in the world and in the souls that live in that era rather than as fixed periods of time. In other words, the spiritual quality is more fundamental than the length of time of the epoch.
If we view the Epochs this way, then they could be either lengthened or brought to a close depending on how they are going. For instance, some textbooks have bonus chapters so that a particularly adept class can learn additional material. Likewise, an epoch that is going well could be extended so that its qualities can be developed even further. On the other hand, if an epoch is going badly, it may either be brought to a close or the next epoch may be introduced early.
The overarching task of the Fifth Epoch, which was supposed to have begun in 1413 and is supposed to last until 3573, was for human beings to develop their individuality. The Fifth Epoch was also supposed to prepare the way for the Sixth Epoch where a new form of social organization is supposed to be brought forth. Also, the Slavic peoples are predicted to play a special role in the Sixth Epoch. Terry Boardman in one of his lectures said it is almost unimaginable at our current time.
But, I think we have some clues. Bruce Charlton has written extensively about the importance of the family in the present day and age. One reason is that as other forms of social cohesion have diminished, the family is what we have left. But, the other reason is that he believes (and I agree) that the destiny of human beings is to move towards a form of social organization based on the family but in a new way.
That is what I believe the Sixth Epoch to be about, the family. It makes sense. In earlier times (but not the earliest), the family was something that existed within the overarching structure of the nation or the culture. They carved out space so that the family could then exist. However, in the Sixth Epoch, nations will not go away, they will move within so that countries will become more like extended families. Further, people will view having a family as their duty. In fact, this makes sense of the industrial revolution and the vast abundance that we in the West have experienced over the past two centuries. The intended purpose was not for people to live luxurious lives, but rather for almost everyone to be able to raise families.
I'm not convinced, at present, that there will be a sixth epoch - but if there is, and if it really is family-based; I can only suppose it would have to be preceded by a massive reduction of population (and reduction in density) down to some small fraction of the present level.
ReplyDeleteI can't honestly imagine how such a thing would work. Nonetheless, it seems probably our only good and viable future.
On the other hand, it may be that it will come to pass; but that it can only work in Heaven.