In volume 4, Peter Selg's exploration into Rudolf Steiner's life and work focuses on the period of World War I. Steiner saw that dark time as largely the result of mounting economic tensions between England and Germany, marked by unsustainable materialistic and nationalistic thinking. In his view, the prevalent social concepts resisted evolution toward a form of society that would enable a long-term future peace; he would soon propose his alternative in the form of the "threefold nature of the social organism" to maintain societal health, sovereign and mutually interdependent relations among the three principal domains of social life: the political, economic, and cultural-spiritual realms. This volume describes a dramatic period during which Rudolf Steiner showed competence and devotion in his attempts to communicate and implement a long-term path to peaceful relations in Europe. His lectures during this time focused heavily on themes of inwardly accompanying those who have died; caring for the wounded; the importance of selflessly experiencing the full tragic reality of world events; and the vital importance of truthfulness in journalism. He regarded the deficiency of truthful reporting to be so dire that he considered founding a news organization in Switzerland. Steiner's deep concern for the tragedy that had befallen Europe, for the many lives violently cut short, and for the political exploitation attempted in the aftermath of the war led him to imbue his anthroposophic activity with a fundamentally new gesture, focusing on practical contributions to society in a way never before attempted in the anthroposophical movement. (ISBN: 9781621480822 Pbk - ISBN: 9781621480839 Hbk) (ISBN: 9781621480853 Pbk - ISBN: 9781621480860 Hbk) (ISBN: 9781621480884 Pbk - ISBN: 9781621480891 Hbk) (ISBN: 9781621481577 Pbk - ISBN: 9781621481584 Hbk) (ISBN: 9781621481935 Pbk - ISBN: 9781621481942 Hbk) (ISBN: 9781621482192 Pbk - ISBN: 9781621482208 Hbk) (ISBN: 9781621482321 Pbk - ISBN: 9781621482338 Hbk)