Man or Matter: Introduction to a Spiritual Understanding of Nature on the Basis of Goethe's Method of Training Observation and Thought [First Edition]

Scarce new and revised second edition in wrapper. Stated at copyright: "First Published mcmli. This new and revised edition mcmlviii by Faber and Faber Limited. Copyright 1958 by Ernst Leopold Lehrs." Fine lighter green full cloth boards, bright gilt spine titles, moderate shelf wear. Pages near fine, clean; some toning inside front and back covers. Features several pages with illustrations. Bind fine, square; hinges intact. Original dust wrapper in matte light green with bold black titles, moderate shelf wear, some toning; unclipped 42s net, protected in new clear sleeve. Unique summary for this enlarged edition at front flap. At back flap are summaries for three titles by Owen Barfield: "Saving the Appearances: A Study in Idolatry; History in English Words; and, Poetic Diction." At back panel are briefs on other intriguing titles from Faber and Faber. Rare very good first printing of the second edition in near very good wrapper. This edition is enlarged with a new preface and appendices. From front flap: Since first published in 1951, the world has changed considerably; 'to be or not to be' has become the alternative and in the shadow of this threat are questions to be answered most have never contemplated. In this new edition Dr. Lehrs fully revised his text and included much that a decade ago would have been premature. He has written a new concluding chapter dealing with the Creative Powers in nature and two new appendices: one on the life and spiritual development of Thomas Traherne; the other on Aristotle and Galileo." "From The Observer: "Much of what Dr. Lehrs has so attractively presented as the Goethean vision of life will seem strange and even fantastic to the average. But put aside prejudgment, and consider his sublte and persuasive arguments; then. it will be surprising if in this enchanting country, he does not himself enriched." "In 'Goethe as the Sage' T. S. Eliot has this to say of 'Man or Matter': 'What Dr. Lehrs did for was to suggest that Goethe's scientific views fitted with his imaginative work, that the same insight was struggling for expression in both, and that is not reasonable to dismiss as nonsense in the field of scientific enquiry, what we accept as inspired wisdom in poetry.'" Man or Matter stands alone for an operational grasping of the astral-etheric forces within and without or external to ourselves. Lehrs was a radical holistic thinker. Based upon Goethe's conception of science and Rudolf Steiner's advancing of this model, 'Man or Matter' is a real challenge to the 'one-eyed, colour-blind onlooker', in whom Dr Lehrs personifies orthodox and academic approaches. Many of these views are so contrary, Lehrs finds more immediate favour with the intelligent lay public than with professionals. Persuasive and in vivid, concise and clear approach. Lehrs is skeptical of orthodox science and found the keys he needed when he began studying Steiner. Some of the most interesting chapters here are devoted to the history of ideas Steiner derived from Goethe - also shared by thinkers as Ruskin and Thomas Reid. As mankind enters the future, the acceptance of this technological expansion is often presented as a choice between Man or Matter. In this intellectually stimulating work, Dr. Lehrs demonstrates a world viewpoint that sanely balances the values of the humanities and sciences. This philosophy was originally conceived by that universal man, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, from the 18th into the 19th century. This conception was developed further in early 20th by Rudolf Steiner. Ernst Lehrs goes to the earliest thinkers in science and religion and examines the thought of Newton, Hume, Traherne, Thomas Reid, Rusking and Steiner. Lehrs conclusion, heavily documented and argued, is that rigid dogmas of science have not taken into account the spiritual nature of humanity and we are on the threshold of discovering mind affecting matter. Mind over matter. Spiritual over physical. Originally written during and just a.…