Steiner's trinitarian view and the philosophy of mind: A critique of Kuhn's landscape of consciousness taxonomy.

A recent taxonomy of philosophies of mind classifies Rudolf Steiner's view as mind-body dualism, but this classification is incorrect. Steiner's view is trinitarian, representing a unification of monism and dualism. This trinitarian conception challenges the taxonomy's placement of Steiner and suggests a potential fundamental limitation of the whole taxonomy, as monism and dualism may not be exclusive. Other thinkers such as Whitehead and de Chardin may also be trinitarian, indicating the taxonomy needs revision. The dualism versus monism debate mirrors limitations in current thinking. The trinitarian view offers a different approach to the hard problem of consciousness, understanding mind-body differentiation as part of human development.

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Abstract

In a recent taxonomy of different philosophies of mind, Robert Lawrence Kuhn classified Rudolf Steiner's view as a mind-body dualism. We argue that this classification is incorrect. Rather, Steiner's view is trinitarian and represents a unification of monism and dualism. Hence, the trinitarian conception of the human being in Steiner not only challenges Kuhn's taxonomic placement of Steiner's view but also, by showing that monism and dualism may not be exclusive, indicates a potential fundamental limitation of the whole taxonomy. Furthermore, since other thinkers (such as Whitehead, de Chardin, and others) may potentially be classified as trinitarian, Kuhn's taxonomy arguably needs revision. In fact, the dualism vs. monism and related debates mirror limitations in current ways of thinking. The trinitarian view offers a different approach to "the hard problem of consciousness", understanding the differentiation between mind and body, and the philosophical problems that arise from this differentiation, as part of human development.