Anthroposophy, also called spiritual science by its founder, Rudolf Steiner is a spiritual philosophy and approach to investigating non-physical levels of, and influences on, reality. Steiner described his approach as "soul-observations using scientific methodology". Steiner's ideas have their roots in the flowering of Germanic culture that resulted in the transcendent philosophy of Hegel, Fichte and Schelling, on the one hand, and the poetic and scientific works of Goethe, upon whom Steiner draws heavily, on the other. The word anthroposophy is derived from the Greek words meaning man-wisdom. Anthroposophy is not to be confused with Anthropology, the scientific study of humankind. Anthroposophy is not considered a science by the scientific communit