Goethe on Science

by Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von; Naydler, Jeremy

• ISBN13: 9780863152375
• ISBN10: 0863152376
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-10-01
• Publisher: Floris Books

Summary

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is most famous for his work on colour theory, but he was also an accomplished all-round scientist, studying and writing on anatomy, geology, botany, zoology and meteorology. This book draws together, in Goethe's own words, his key ideas on nature, science and scientific method.Goethe believed that we should study our world and nature as people at home in it, rather than removedly, as if we were aliens from another planet. He adopted a qualitative approach to science at odds with Newton's quantitative methods that were so popular in his day. His is a sensitive science which does not ignore our relationship to nature.The extracts in this book are fascinating and essential reading for anyone who feels that we've lost our spiritual connection to nature.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. 9
Introduction	p. 15
The Human Being is the Most Exact Instrument	p. 27
Observation of Nature is Limitless	p. 36
Setting Forth a Morphology	p. 47
Quality and Quantity: Two Poles of Material Existence	p. 64
Delicate Empiricism	p. 70
The Contemplation of Nature Suggests Ideas	p. 89
The Archetypal Phenomenon	p. 103
God in Nature, Nature in God	p. 110
Seeing and Seeing	p. 115
The Horizon Boundless	p. 121
Sources and bibliography	p. 129
Index	p. 139
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