Despite the fact that evil is an omnipresent theme of our age, it remains one of the most problematic. Public references to it are continually made, but to what extent has society truly begun to understand its riddle?

In this selection of insightful lectures Rudolf Steiner addresses the subject of evil from the results of his spiritual research, offering an original and complex picture. He describes evil as a phenomenon which arises when a thing appears outside its true context, enabling something which is initially 'good' to become harmful. He speaks of the effect of particular spiritual beings - principally Lucifer and Ahriman - who work as polar forces, laying hindrances in our path.

Yet, paradoxically, confronting and coming to terms with such difficulties ultimately furthers our development. Thus Steiner speaks of evil as a necessary phenomenon in human evolution, allowing for the possibility of freedom.

April 2003; Trans. various (Selected lectures, various GAs); RSP; 224pp; 21.5 x 13.5 cm; pb;