Man: an integrated view

Man's constitution can be viewed from various perspectives:

Man's bodily principles: the human physical, etheric and astral body, the human 'I' or threefold soul, and Man's higher triad. Of the latter, today the the fifth member or spirit-self is in development. From this basis a spiritual scientific physiology can be described
Man as a threefold being with three 'functional subsystems': the nerve-sense, rhythmic, and metabolic-limb systems.
connecting both: a Spiritual scientific physiology starting with all organs and components of Man's physical body.

The two first dimensions represent a matrix view to understand Man in the interrelationships between 'bodily principles' and 'functional subsystems'.

Man's main four bodily principles developed during previous planetary stages, and the three functional subsystems, together give a "4 by 3" view or mental framework structure to reason in. This matrix view to integrate the two above and not get locked in to narrow one-dimensional thinking.

Furthermore to be superimposed are:

how the beings of spiritual hierarchies live in Man, see also Man and the spiritual hierarchies
the rhythms and patterns of cosmic interactions or cosmic breathing, see also: Man and the macrocosmos

Finally there are the evolutionary aspects of Man past and future

evolution in the previous planetary stages
evolution of Man on Earth, the current planetary stage

Aspects

Human temperaments: every human being has one base temperament, with varying degrees of the other three mixed in
inheritance is covered on
- Model for hereditary physical body
- Descent influencing generations to incarnation
Linking the four bodily principles and the three subsystems:
- in the head-nerve subsystem, two independent developments of the physical-etheric on the one hand and the astral and I-organization on the other; in the metabolic-limb subsystem the four bodily principles are intimately bound up with one another; in the middle rhythmic subsystem the I-organisation and astral body alternately unite with the physical and etheric part, and loose themselves again. This alternating is seen in the inbreathing and arterial blood process (union) and outbreathing and venous blood process (loosening). (1925-GA026 - LT36 and LT37)
- human character is a result of how the human 'I' takes hold of the three lower bodily principles or members, see: Human character - the I and threefold soul
- the physical and etheric bodies are closely tied, just as the astral body and the human I. Both 'physical+etheric' and 'astral+human I' are connected through a 'silver cord' (also: 'astral matrix'), see Out of Body Experiences (OBE), at night the 'astral+human I' separate from the 'physical+etheric' bodies.
- changing relation between physical and etheric bodies (1919-04-05-GA190)
  - inner connection between physical and etheric head has come to an end since 3th century BC
  - progressive loosening of physical and etheric heart started around 1721 and physical heart will be entirely freed from its etheric part around 2100.
  - later this will also be happening for other organs.

at the intersection of the liquid/watery bodily principle and the rhythmic circulatory system
- the rhythmic system is usually thought of as mainly consisting of breath and blood circulation (in relation 1 breath to 4 pulses), however also lymph and chyle fluids circulate as astral and etheric counterparts (see Schema FMC00.155).
- Chyle, lymph blood are also called the three bodily humors as it existed in ancient Greece and the cultures before, and that based itself on liquids for health treatment.
Old Saturn Man, Old Sun Man, Old Moon Man is a presentation that is used in a number of lectures such as: 1915-06-03-GA162 (see below) and also 1915-06-22-GA157 and 1910-08-25-GA122 (Moon nature in Man). See also Schema FMC00.492 on Man and the spiritual hierarchies.
analogy of Man and plant
- Wood sap in plants (earthy-fluidic influence) corresponds to mucus in Man, the life sap of the plant (fluidic-airy influence) which circulates from the leaves, corresponds to the human blood (<-> human I), and the cambium of the plant (airy-warmth, influence of the stars) corresponds to the milk and the chyle (<-> etheric body) in the human being. (1923-10-31-GA351) - see Plant kingdom#1923-10-31-GA351 and Schema FMC00.616A.
- see Schema FMC00.111 and link - in plant - with elementals of nature in Schema FMC00.009A, and - in Man - with fluids in Schema FMC00.155

Inspirational quotes

1920-04-09-GA201

The ability to think of the Universe as an organism depends on our learning to understand the hieroglyph of the organism we have before us. We must learn to perceive Man as a hieroglyph of the Universe, for he gives us the opportunity of seeing near at hand how different are above and below, left and right, before and behind. We must learn this first in Man, and we shall then find it in the Universe.

1921-04-02-GA204

what is the human organism? The human organism is a faithful copy of man's soul-spiritual nature.

Illustrations

Schema FMC00.151 shows the four bodily principles of Man (physical, etheric, astral and 'I') over which are drawn the processes that take place in the three subsystems (sense-nerve, rhythmic, metabolic-limb), here from an angle of perspective of a Carbon, Oxygen, Nitrogen and Hydrogen process.

FMC00.015A shows threefold Man and how the three main intake processes lie at the basis of Thinking, Feeling and Willing (TFW). It shows also how the subsystem processes are linked (green arrows), and how at each stage part of the etheric flows is stopped et the exhalation stage (red line).

Furthermore the schema allows to contemplate Man: an integrated view with the matrix linkeage between fourfold Man (above, re four elements) and the Man as a threefold being (below, with three subsystems).

For the workings of the metabolic-limb system, which is not fully explained in the lecture 1924-GA318 lecture, take this schema together with Schema FMC00.412 on Metabolic-limb subsystem.

Schema FMC00.415 shows the human physical body as a structure that embeds and hosts all other Man's bodily principles, and hence has a specific organization for each of them as part or subset of the physical body. If a new principle is added, as the human 'I' in the current Earth planetary stage of evolution, then this new principle has to be interwoven in a balanced and correct way. This is done over the various epochs and cultural ages, and because it is so complex offers many ways for this development to go wrong (see eg the sixteen paths of perdition), as explained in the lectures of 1917-01-01-GA174B and 1917-01-14-GA174B. See also Schemas FMC00.036 and FMC00.338 on I-organization.

Schema FMC00.415A is a variant that includes naming and mapping for the etheric body from 1917-12-27-GA101, as 'imprints' of astral group souls. The components of the nervous system are tentatively mapped on the basis of 1917-01-14-GA174B. This may not be a correct hence in grey, however it is still interesting to compare with Schema FMC00.036.

Schema FMC00.603: is a graphical illustration of the fact that Man's bodily principles work to a different extent in the three subsystems of Man as threefold being, as explained in 1921-04-11-GA313. The head or nerve-sense subsystem is essentially physical body only and thus the 'dying' part, opposite to which the metabolic-limb subsystem is the more spiritual coming into being part.

is a graphical illustration of the fact that Man's bodily principles work to a different extent in the three subsystems of Man as threefold being, as explained in 1921-04-11-GA313. The head or nerve-sense subsystem is essentially physical body only and thus the 'dying' part, opposite to which the metabolic-limb subsystem is the more spiritual coming into being part.

Schema FMC00.158 shows how the four temperaments are related to a dominant bodily principle, and find its expression in both external (physical and facial appearance and movement) and internal ways (character). See also Human character - the I and threefold soul.

Schema FMC00.005 shows how the various planetary forces or spiritual influences work in Man, and the correspondence with the Spectrum of elements and ethers as well as metals. Compare with Schema FMC00.297 to overlay Ahrimanic and Luciferic influences.

Schema FMC00.155 sketches how Man is traversed by spiritual beings from Moon, Mars, Venus in circulating lymph and chyle fluids, and how Saturn beings take their abode in Man's sensory perceptions. Chyle, lymph blood are also called the three bodily humors as it existed in ancient Greece and the cultures before, and that based itself on liquids for health treatment.

Lecture coverage and references

Overview

The integration between the various perspectives is embedded in the broad coverage of Man - the human being, and there is no specific lecture cycle that covers the linking of these various perspective dimensions. However, in a number of lectures this is the central theme.

Examples are:

1923-02-11-GA221 is called 'the invisible man in us'
1924-09-14-GA318 takes breathing as the start, but links the inputs from the three subsystems (sensory inputs, breathing air in/out, and taking in food-stuffs) to the higher ethers and the inner processes in Man, linking it to thinking, feeling, willing (TFW).

Reference extracts

1906-10-25-GA055

The ether body transforms inorganic substances into living fluids;
the astral body transforms living substance into sensitive substance.
But — and of this please take special note — a being composed of no more than the three bodies is only capable of sensing itself. It is only aware of its own life processes; its existence is confined within the boundaries of its own being.
This fact is most interesting, and it is important to keep it in mind.

1915-06-03-GA162

for long extract see: Transition between Earth and Future Jupiter#1915-06-03-GA162

(SWCC)

.. human evolution has arrived at the Earth stage only after passing through previous stages, and the Earth stage was preceded by the Old Moon stage .. the former Old Moon stage is preserved in a later stage, is active therein; we can put it this way: that we are Earth men, but that we in a certain sense, carry the Old Moon man in us. We have developed from the Old Moon stage, yet the Old Moon-man lives in us, he is part of us. We could show this in diagrammatic form ... or, we can say: we carry with us the Earth man, but the Earth man surrounds the Old Moon man. We can proceed further, that the Old Moon man also encloses the Old Sun man, and the Old Sun man in turn encloses the Old Saturn man; so we carry within us, in addition to the Old Moon man, the Old Sun man and Old Saturn man.
We must, of course, not imagine that this diagram in any sense reproduces the truth. In reality, the Old Moon man does not sit inside as if he were surrounded by a shell; but if we wish to imagine the reality related to this ‘dual’ man, the matter stands thus, for example:

that, which in a specific sense, belongs to the Earth, we would have to imagine as residing chiefly in the trunk, the lower and upper limbs and as far as the throat region.

And if trying to imagine the Old Moon man we must visualize him as the surmounting head;

the Old Sun man has certain — already disintegrating organs in the head,

and the Old Saturn man has head organs now scarcely discernable.

1919-04-05-GA190

changing relation between physical and etheric bodies:

inner connection between physical and etheric head has come to an end since 3th century BC
progressive loosening of physical and etheric heart started around 1721 and physical heart will be entirely freed from its etheric part around 2100.
Later this will also be happening for other organs.

see: Current fifth cultural age#1919-04-05-GA190

1921-04-02-GA204

1924-07-21-GA319

everything that constitutes the etheric body is intimately bound up with the metabolic and limb system, everything that constitutes the astral body is bound up with the rhythmic system;

Discussion

Related pages

References and further reading

Otto Julius Hartmann:
- Erde und Kosmos im Leben des Menschen (1938, 1950)
- Der Mensch als Selbstgestalter seines Schicksals (1939, 1984)
- Anthroposophie. Einführung in des Verständnis des Menschen-Wesens (1950)
Albert Schmelzer, Jan Deschepper: 'Antroposofische menskunde begrijpen' (14 essays) (2021)