Anthroposophical Society, The

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Anthroposophical Society, The. Organization founded by the Austro-Hungarian Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925) in 1912, which has for its principal aim the development of new perspectives for the study of humanity. Matter, in Steiner's view, is a necessary evil, for without descending into matter, spirit cannot rise up and acquire an individuated form. Humans are the high point of this process of the evolution of spirit.