Harvard Steiner Conference Keynote - Dr. Martina Maria Sam - December 15, 2025

Описание: Becoming A Spiritual Teacher - Rudolf Steiner's Early Years

Dr. Martina Maria Sam
Rudolf Steiner Archive


Abstract: Rudolf Steiner, who was previously known as a Goethe editor and author of philosophical and literary works, surprised his contemporaries when, from the age of 40, he appeared as a spiritual teacher seeking to build on Western spiritual traditions, German Idealism in particular. What makes someone a spiritual teacher? What inner impulses moved him from an early age? What challenges – trials, life crises, experiences of failure – did he encounter on his path? Based on the comprehensive study of original sources and of Rudolf Steiner’s own words, this talk will provide an outline of the first forty years of his life.

Presenter bio: Dr. Martina Maria Sam studied sociology and political science at Heidelberg University, eurythmy and Waldorf education at Witten, and German language and literature and art history at Basel University. She worked for four years as an eurythmist on the Goetheanum stage and has been involved since 1989 in the publication of Rudolf Steiner’s Complete Works. From 1997 to 2012, she was head of the Humanities Section at the School of Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum. In 2010, she received her doctorate from the University of Zurich with a thesis on Rudolf Steiner's reception of Goethe’s Faust. Since 2011 her research has focused on the early biography of Rudolf Steiner, and she has published her research in two books and numerous articles. Since 2018, she has contributed as a commentator to the edition of Rudolf Steiner's letters. In 2019, she published a catalogue of Rudolf Steiner's Library.

Presenter affiliation: Rudolf Steiner Archive

This talk took place during the Program for the Evolution of Spirituality's 2025 Conference "100 Years Rudolf Steiner" held at Harvard Divinity School.

Learn more at www.hds.harvard.edu/pes