Die Welt in neuer Sicht: Reflections on Gebser's Language and Vision Georg Feuerstein In 1943, Verlag Oprecht in Zurich published Gebser's Abendländische Wandlung (Occidental Transformation). The book offered a first clarifying overview of the revolutionary developments in physics, biology, and psychology (including parapsychology) since the turn of the century. Gebser's declared purpose was to highlight the relevance of these developments to our everyday life. He spoke of an enhancement of our awareness and an ability to live and experience deeply and argued that the striking new developments in the sciences were manifestations of a novel level of consciousness (Bewusstseinslage). Gebser proposed that we thoroughly understand and translate these developments into the practical context of daily living, as they can help us realize the new consciousness. He explained that the transcendence of the primacy of the intellect demanded by the new consciousness was not tantamount to a regression into the world of magic and myth. Rather, he insisted, it represented a breakthrough to the level of the spiritual (das Geistige), which must not be confused with the spirit (der Geist) typically conceived as opposite to body and psyche. The attainment of the spiritual, he observed, "could in a surprising way be an approximation to the Ground of Being (Seinsgrund)" (Gebser, 1943, 169). These words were written before Gebser had elaborated his model of the structures of consciousness, but they clearly foreshadow it. The great success of Abendländische Wandlung (Occidental Transformation) encouraged Gebser to organize two conferences in 1957 and 1958. They were held in Munich by the Freunde der Residenz in conjunction with the Schweizer Verein München. The invited presenters at the first conference consisted of Walther Gerlach, a professor of experimental physics; the well–known Swiss zoologist Adolf Portmann; Gustav Richard Heyer, a neurologist and psychotherapist; Jean Rudolf von Salis, a renowned professor of history; and Wolfhart F. Bürgi, a law professor. At the second conference, presentations were made by architect Tino Walz, writer Werner Weber, and the two theologians Heinrich Kahlefeld and Otto Wolff (a noted Aurobindo expert). Walter Riezler, a professor of music, had also been invited but was unable to attend because of illness. At the conclusion of the first conference, Gebser gave a talk in which he summarized the preceding presentations and his own take on what was happening in the world. He began by explaining the title of the conference, Die Welt in neuer Sicht. His remarks are still helpful in providing entry into his thinking and especially his epistemology. Hence I propose to briefly review and comment on his main points. This will afford us an interesting look at Gebser's use of language and how he struggled in conceptualizing some very difficult issues, which are fundamental to his approach. First of all, how should we translate Die Welt in neuer Sicht? "The world in a new . . . what"? The German word Sicht can have several connotations, especially "sight," "vision," and "view." None of these English equivalents quite convey the meaning of the German original as employed by Gebser. The word Sicht appears as the stem of numerous other words in the German language, which is well known for making full use of affixes that modify the meaning of the stem: Sichtbarkeit (visibility), sichtlich (visible, evident), Absicht (intention, purpose), Ansicht (opinion, outlook), Aussicht (prospect), and Aussichtslosigkeit (hopelessness), Besichtigung (sight–seeing, examination), Durchsicht (inspection),
64
