Original German term: Kulturepochen
Plain English
Cultural epochs are Steiner’s way of describing large periods in the evolution of human consciousness and civilisation.
Modern Translation
The idea is that different historical periods cultivate different kinds of awareness, soul life, thinking, and social form.
Why It Matters
The term appears often in anthroposophical history, education, esoteric studies, and accounts of consciousness development.
For Beginners
A useful version is to ask how ancient, classical, medieval, modern, and future cultures shape different forms of human awareness.
Important Context
Some older anthroposophical discussions of cultural epochs reflect early twentieth-century assumptions and language that modern readers may find outdated or problematic. Many ideas set forward by the Theosophical society about race were later renounced and condemned by Steiner.
It would have completely no sense if we were to speak of that we in our time were preparing for a sixth ‘race’. If we in our time still see remains of the old… differences, remaining old group soulness, so that you still can speak of a differentiation into races – what is preparing itself for the sixth epoch consists specifically in getting rid of and leaving behind that which is ‘racial character’. That is the important thing.
Rudolf Steiner