The Challenge of the Times
GA 186
In these lectures, given just days after the ending of World War I, Steiner describes the new developments in mechanics, politics, and economy as well as new capacities and methods in the West and the East. He reveals their fruitful potentialities but also the dangers of their abuse. He also discusses social and antisocial instincts, specters of the Old Testament in the nationalism of the present, and the innate capacities of various nations.
These lectures, originally published in English with the title, In the Changed Conditions of the Times (from the lecture series entitled, Fundamental Social Requirements of Our Time), were given in Dornach, Switzerland, November–December, 1918. They were translated from the German by Olin D. Wannamaker and are included in Die soziale Grundforderung unserer Zeit
| I. | East and West from a Spiritual Point of View | November 29, 2023 |
| II. | The Present from the Viewpoint of the Present | November 30, 2023 |
| III. | The Mechanistic, Eugenic and Hygienic Aspects of the Future | December 1, 2023 |
| IV. | Social and Antisocial Instincts | December 6, 2023 |
| V. | Specters of the Old Testament in the Nationalism of the Present | December 7, 2023 |
| VI. | The Innate Capacities of the Nations of the World | December 8, 2023 |