The Experience of Thinking

This book is about European philosophers from Plato to Martin Buber – about the way they understood the world and their question of what it means to be human. The key to this is their experience of thinking.

The starting point of this account is the assumption that human consciousness changes over the ages – and that this change shapes how philosophers comprehend their world and find meaning in it. Rudolf Steiner described this change, which is evolutionary in nature, in detail. It should not, however, be confused with human progress or with the mere development of ideas.

That humanity has its place in biological evolution is widely accepted. The evolution of consciousness, by contrast, still awaits recognition. Yet it is precisely this that opens up a deeper understanding of Greek and medieval philosophy, and its traces can be seen in other areas of cultural life as well. In the modern era, finally, philosophy tends to divide into two currents: one centred on the observation of the world, the other on the experience of the self.

This book thus offers the general reader an introduction to the thinking and outlook of some remarkable philosophers.

Education, philosophy and art are the passions that shaped John Thomson's long life. After studying the humanities and law, he turned to teaching and eventually found his vocation in Waldorf education.

After 25 years as a teacher, he moved to Emerson College to train teachers – a task that led him to engage more deeply with the philosophical foundations of this approach to education. He shared his insights in public lectures on the tasks of education and philosophy, which took him as far as the USA and Asia.

John died on 7 February 2025, three weeks before his 100th birthday.