Love and Duty Kresin-Price

Love and Duty

At first read, Whitman’s Song of Myself might only seem like a stream of
consciousness list of episodes from the poet’s life. It touches lightly on a vast array of
people, places, and events and does not appear to linger in great detail on any one in
particular. Whitman tells us that the items in this gargantuan list constitute who he is.
Again, a surface read might confirm that most of these things are plausible or even
probable in terms of the poet’s direct experience. We might even agree that a person’s
experiences make up his or her life and then we might concede that life experiences make
us who we are. If we did this, we could call it a day and retire from the poetry of Walt
Whitman. In so retiring, real meaning would be lost.
In truth, this work by Whitman is an overture to individuality and freedom. If we
have studied Rudolf Steiner’s masterful Philosophy of Freedom then new dimension and
depth begin to appear as we work again through Song of Myself. Through the lens of
Steiner we learn to look and listen beyond material experiences. There lies the poet’s
connection to and perception of the unseen spiritual world. Through Whitman’s words
we hear the voice of what Steiner calls the free spirit, a goal toward which all human
spirits strive (Steiner, Intuitive Thinking 75). Whitman enables us to voyeuristically look
on as he merges first with one being or place and then with another. He becomes one
with all that he beholds. He even becomes one with his reader.
D. H. Lawrence jokingly criticized Whitman’s poem when he said, “…Oh Walter,
Walter, what have you done with it? What have you done with your individual self? For
it sounds as if it had all leaked out of you into the Universe…” (177). In considering the
subject of the individual self in relation to this work, it would be easy to say that
Whitman’s self has been consumed by all things. However, if examined through the
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scope of Steiner’s ethical individualism, we will see that Song of Myself has been
primarily composed as an expression of the poet’s very distinct individual nature.
Before we are able to do this, we must first gain a satisfactory understanding of
ethical individualism, as Steiner intends for us to know it, by considering what is
contained in Steiner’s terms intuition and morality. In chapter 9 of The Philosophy of
Freedom entitled, The Idea of Freedom, Steiner describes the moral capability of human
beings. This capability differs greatly from person to person based on his or her access
to the higher faculty of intuition, or what Steiner terms pure thinking. This pure thinking
is a concrete experience of what is available to each of us in a world of “common ideas”.
From these ideas, each person receives unique intuitions that inspire him or her to live
them out through action and deed. These actions comprise our moral conduct. Each of
us has a different level of ability with regard to our moral conduct, based on our level of
access to intuitive thinking. When our moral conduct is allowed to play out in life
through our deeds, we are expressing “the highest motive a man can have” (70). As these
individual intuitions are received and brought into being as action, we are expressing our
own unique ethical individualism.
Within the framework of ethical individualism, we are able to look at Whitman’s
work with new eyes. However, we still do not have all the tools we need to understand
the essence of freedom and individuality that permeate this work. Looking again to
Steiner we must also take up the idea of freedom. It is his claim that when human beings
perform acts of will based on compulsion, duty or obedience to external laws, they are
operating in an un-free state. When an act of will is enacted due to an internal personal
moral code or system of beliefs, this person too is un-free. No matter the value of the
action, no matter the good it has done in the world, if the deed is enacted due to the
imposition of external or internal rule, the actor has not been free in his deed.
What then is a free deed? According to Steiner, a person can be free in his or her
actions when the only motive for performance is love of the deed itself. There can be no
consideration about what “should” be done or what is the “right” thing to do. If the doer
loves the deed, the action will be done in freedom. What about the criminal though who
robs the bank because he loves to steal? Is this deed free and therefore a higher deed than
giving to the poor if that giving is performed based on a personal ethical code? Steiner
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anticipates this objection and answers with clarity. When a criminal robs a bank or a
person otherwise engages in evil deeds, this can never be done in freedom. In fact, it is
done only out of instinct and obedience to an animalistic compulsion of the most general
sort. There is nothing individual or ethical about such actions (72).
Conversely, it is also true that moral codes and laws originate from the intuition
of human beings and are brought forth to society in order to help people live and function
together in a healthy manner. Steiner does not suggest anarchy, as this too would be an
un-free deed and would come from the compulsion to break rules. However, if a person,
acting freely from love of the deed also happens to find that laws and rules of society,
religion, or morality run parallel to his or her own love-filled deeds, then the laws will be
followed, not out of duty, but out of love. There might be, and have been, times when
human intuition leads us to realize that a higher and better law should be instituted to
replace the current one. In this instance, a person may work to change and improve
societal codes to match the love-warmed actions that have arisen out of his or her own
individual intuitive experience. This answers concerns about the origin of unjust societal
codes in human intuition.
Our next important element for complete understanding of Whitman’s poem is the
idea of individuality. We have seen what comprises ethical individualism. We know that
free deeds are achieved through one’s deep love of an action. It is individuality that is
expressed through intuitive thinking. As we express ourselves from an experience of
intuition or pure thinking, we are laying bare our deepest and highest individual nature.
There is nothing general in the warmth and loving attention we give to something or to
someone out of our intuitive self. This interest is uniquely individual to the giver.
It is here that we can delve deeply into Song of Myself with more complete
understanding of the voice we hear. Whitman, the free spirit, is the voice of intuition,
individuality, and freedom. He breaks free from the bonds of conventional rules and
thoughts and takes us as readers through a myriad of scenarios warmed by his self, which
has entered into each with a delicate and sensitive caress. We may feel uncomfortable at
times and may wonder at the poet in his assertions of himself, but we find his
individuality in full and robust images over and over again. Through the 52 chants of this
epic American poem, we are led, if we allow ourselves to be, through a Whitmanesque
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maze of vignettes that vividly explore the interweaving between reader, poet, and
universe all springing from the poet’s deep interest and love in each subject. It is this
very depth of interest that sets Whitman apart and delineates him from other human
beings.
At times the poet strangely appears to merge himself with all of existence,
including the reader. We are lulled by his gentleness at the same time we are startled by
his intimacy. If we carefully listen to the poet’s voice, we will find that his oneness with
all of creation comes from his love and exuberance for life. He begins the first chant by
establishing that for him, reader and poet are one “What I assume you shall assume, for
every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you” (23). In chant 14 he says, “What is
commonest, cheapest, nearest, easiest, is Me…” (34). He weaves a tapestry of diversity
and multiplicity in wide variation from line to line. We travel with him from a church to
a slave auction to a steamboat to the city and the country and into the private quarters of
old and young married couples. He says of these people and places in chant 15, “…of
these one and all I weave the song of myself” (37). He is quite clearly unified with all
things and beings.
What happens to the individuality of the poet when he merges so completely with
the universe? It does not disappear, rather it shines forth ever more brightly. As he
merges more deeply with his subjects, he becomes more of himself. This becomes
possible primarily due to what he shares with us about that which is the most private and
intimate part of a human being, his spiritual life.
In chant 20 he asks, “Why should I pray? Why should I venerate and be
ceremonious” (39)? Whitman bows to no god or religion nor does he pay homage to
ritual or custom. Yet his outlook is inherently spiritual. Interwoven throughout the work
are references to the non-material world. He is a believer in death and resurrection and
says that his faith is made of both ancient and modern beliefs and everything in between
including a reference to a repeated cycle of earthly lives, “Believing I shall come again
upon the earth after five thousand years” (65). He mentions his acceptance of Osiris,
Kronos, Zeus, Buddha, Brahma, Odin, Allah, along with gods from other traditions in
chant 41 and Christ in chant 43. In chant 48 he explains his own, very personal,
experience of God, “I find letters from God dropt in the street, and every one is sign’d by
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God’s name,” (73). He finds divinity and spirit in the common world of everyday living.
He explores a spiritual world beyond, but at once interpenetrating, this material one. In
chant 24 he describes his understanding of human spiritual nature, “Divine am I inside
and out, and I make holy whatever I touch or am touched from” (44). Whitman touches
everything and everything touches him. He looks on at the world and at us with a
sensitive but forward closeness, “In me the caresser of life wherever moving,” (33).
Whitman basks in a love of life that is beyond duty and compulsion. He makes it
clear to the reader of this work that he does not follow convention or live his life
according to established rules, as in chant 46, when he reminds us, “I have no chair, no
church, no philosophy.” In several episodes he exemplifies the high level of moral
conduct of Steiner’s ethical individualism. One vivid example comes from chant 10 in
relation to the runaway slave. Although it might have been dangerous for Whitman to
help such a man, he does. He clearly defies the law of the land in doing so. However,
nowhere does he consider that this is a “right” or “wrong” thing to do, nor does he
mention any political view to which he adheres. Without considering the pros and cons
of such action, he reaches out to help another man in need. He even stands ready to
defend the man with a firearm if necessary. His deed does not originate from duty or
from an internal moral code. He behaves this way out of an apparent love for the deed
and not from a question of whether he “should” or “shouldn’t” (31). This is a perfect
example of what Steiner describes as ethical individualism. In this incident, Whitman
does not consider what others would do, he simply does.
Whitman expresses in chant 17 that what he describes is not original to him but in
fact “the thoughts of all men in all ages and lands”. In chant 47 his relationship with the
reader is made clearer, “It is you talking just as much as Myself, I act as the tongue of
you, tied in your mouth, in mine it begins to be loosen’d” (71). Whitman becomes the
bearer of the spirit for others to emulate. He takes the reader to the hill and points to “the
public road” where we must all walk alone. He hears our questions but he cannot answer
saying, “…you must find out for yourself” (70). This almost echoes Steiner’s idea that
“Man must unite his concept with the percept of man by his own activity” (75).
Attainment of our free spirit is the responsibility of each individual human being
according to both writers.
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Whitman calls to us to join him in the freedom he enjoys. Steiner provides us
with a map of how to do it. According to Steiner, free spirit is not the only state in
which man can dwell. There are other stages where most human deeds originate that
precede this attainment. We are essentially unfinished beings constantly striving toward
freedom from duty, compulsion and obedience (75). To activate the will at this level
requires a great deal of awareness and consciousness. Whitman seems to know that it will
require an individual act of will in order for the reader to accomplish this goal. As he
sings the song of himself, developing further examples of his own human freedom, he
also sings the song of his reader’s self. Whitman stands as a prophet of sorts, leading the
way toward the future when, it is hoped, we too can achieve this state of freedom.
Steiner shows us that when we find the concept of our own self, we will also
become free spirits (75). He explains that in the spiritual activity of thinking, we feel the
selfhood or selfness that is distinctly our own individuality. Whitman most certainly
expresses his individuality line after line. While we are privy to Whitman’s thinking as
he engages in the act of feeling his selfness, we become a witness to the poet’s very
concrete experience of spiritual activity. To be such a witness brings one in direct
communion with the essence of the man. We feel him close by and are drawn in by the
intimate nature of the revelation he makes. A particularly intimate moment comes in
chant 5:

I mind how once we lay such a transparent summer morning,

Through this erotic description of the communion with his own soul, we look on
awkwardly waiting to see what happens. Whitman continues the chant with “And I know
that the hand of God is the promise of my own, / And I know that the spirit of God is the
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brother of my own,” and suddenly this eroticism is transformed into religious reverence
for the self. One feels fortunate to have been part of it.
Because he knows something beyond materialism, Whitman is not saddened by
the tragedies or misfortunes of living nor does he dread his eventual death. In chant 7 he
asks, “Has any one supposed it lucky to be born? / I hasten to inform him or her it is just
as lucky to die, and I know it” (29). He transcends the unpleasantness of living and the
fear of dying but does so out of the depth of his loving interest in all things. His
enthusiasm for his subject allows him to look beyond the surface into the very heart of
being. He tells us in chant 21 that he increases the pleasures of Heaven upon himself and
translates the pains of Hell into a new language. He is not shaken here by turmoil or
strife and seems to love pain as much as pleasure, as through his love, he transforms it.
In chant 24 he considers all the wretched and persecuted people of the past who, deprived
of their voice, were also without justice and the simplest of human rights. He says that
their voices will be “clarified and transfigur’d” through his own voice (44). He has
become them. He has nothing but love for them and redeems their persecutors through
his love-warmed chants. Steiner reminds us that, “To live in love towards our actions, to
let live in the understanding of the other person’s will, is the fundamental maxim of free
men” (74).
One of the most illuminating chants is number 44. Here, Whitman pinpoints the
heart of the matter with startling clarity. It is as if he steps off of the page and shakes us
awake. He invites us to stand at attention in order to become aware of what he is saying.
He displays for us a world where physical materiality and everything that is known,
comfortable, and common has been removed. He wishes to take us all with him into the
unknown. He considers eternity and the never-ending cycle of time. He can see the
beginning of time and he knows that he was there in a different form, waiting in the mist.
Whitman describes people of the past, both common and great, and those yet to be born
in the future. To him, all of these individualities are equal because he does not see them
with the eyes of materiality. He sees them transparently, as spiritual beings. He again
affirms his love of life as he claims, “I keep no account with lamentation, (what have I to
do with lamentation)?” (67).
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His expansive vision encompasses his own beginnings and the preparations made
for his earthly arrival ages before his own birth. He is grateful for living yet not overly
attached to material life. One has the feeling that he could just as easily release all of
these earthly loves for the life of the spirit. This outlook is dualistic in one sense and yet
unified in another. Awareness of this material as well as spiritual nature is perfectly
expressed in the line, “Now on this spot I stand with my robust soul.” He is waiting in
anticipation for his next phase of being, enthusiastically ready for the future.
The self expressed by Whitman is not the egoistic lower self of instinct or desire,
what Steiner calls “the first level of individual life” or “perceiving” (63). Neither is it the
“second level of human life” or “feeling” where an act of will is instituted out of
emotional connection or reaction to a situation. Although his words evoke feeling in the
reader, the poet does not draw his images from emotional content. The “third level of
life” according to Steiner, originates from the “practical experience” of a human being.
When this level of “driving force” is in play, a person relies upon previous actions rather
than meeting each situation afresh with full consciousness. One could say that a person
operating in this realm of influence sleeps his or her way into action by doing what they
have done before. Whitman is not interested in habituation and does not hold forth such
an example. Where the content of Whitman’s poem connects with Steiner’s delineations
for levels of “individual life” is in Steiner’s “conceptual thinking”. In this case, acts of
will are carried out purely from reliance on one’s intuition. The driving force of all
Whitman speaks about emerges from “pure thinking” or as the philosophers say,
“practical reason”. Whitman’s universal love for all of creation, whether shining or
broken, matter or spirit, issues forth from the highest levels of intuitive thinking
throughout this entire work. No sensory perceptions, emotions, or habitual mental
images are the origin of this creative flow. Whitman is wholly original and totally
conscious in his every word. His act of will in writing the work, and the act of will he
speaks of, namely celebrating his selfhood, are both pure intuitive thinking as described
by Steiner.
“It is a moral advance when a man no longer simply accepts the commands of an
outer or inner authority as a motive of his action, but tries to understand the reason why a
particular maxim of behavior should act as a motive in him” (67). This Steiner quote
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captures the essence of Whitman’s efforts. Walt Whitman clearly operates from a place
of “moral insight” in Song of Myself. He has not written this work with any eye to an
outside authority. He has certainly not relied upon stereotypes in laying out his images.
He has not followed the rules of any other group or person in his form. The topic of the
work, so easily misunderstood, is unusual to say the least. These are the elements that
make the work most compelling. His devastatingly accurate characterization of his own
selfhood, his forthright style and voice, and the subject matter of the piece, all stand as a
testament to his originality, freedom, and most importantly, as a revelation of the
individual spiritual presence that is Walt Whitman.
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Works Cited

Lawrence, D. H. Studies in Classic American Literature. New York:

Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass and Selected Prose by Walt Whitman.

Steiner, Rudolf. Intuitive Thinking As a Spiritual Path. Hudson, New York: