The child as a sense organ: an anthroposophic understanding of imitation processes, paperback/peter selg

The initial period of childhood is essentially about adapting to and incarnating on Earth and establishing a provisional balance between the ``spiritual`` and the ``physical,`` between the prenatal cosmic and the earthly factors.

During this time, according to Rudolf Steiner, ``all the forces of a childs organization emanate from the neurosensory system.

By bringing respiration into harmony with neurosensory activity, we draw the spirit-soul element into the childs physical life.

`` Peter Selg investigates how childrens early experience of the world begins as an undifferentiated sensory relationship to their phenomenological environment.

This aspect of a childs incarnation leads to leaning through imitation and to the process of recognizing ``the Other`` as a separate entity with which to interact.

In this cogent work, Peter Selg describes the early stages of childhood from the perspectives of conventional scientific and spiritual-scientific-- anthropological and anthroposophic--research with the purpose of encouraging a new educational attitude in working with young children.

In his numerous references to early childhood development, this was Rudolf Steiners most important and urgent purpose.