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  • © 1987

Goethe and the Sciences: A Reappraisal

Part of the book series: Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science (BSPS, volume 97)

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Table of contents (20 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvii
  2. Expanding the Limits of Traditional Scientific Methodology and Ontology

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 113-113
    2. Goethe and Modern Science

      • Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker
      Pages 115-132
    3. Goethe and the Concept of Metamorphosis

      • Adolf Portmann
      Pages 133-145
    4. Is Goethe’s Theory of Color Science?

      • Gernot Böhme
      Pages 147-173
    5. The Theory of Color as the Symbolism of Insight

      • Christoph Gögelein
      Pages 247-254
  3. Contemporary Relevance: A Viable Alternative?

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 255-255
    2. Form and Cause in Goethe’s Morphology

      • Ronald H. Brady
      Pages 257-300
    3. Whiteness

      • Jonathan Westphal
      Pages 319-339

About this book

of him in like measure within myself, that is my highest wish. This noble individual was not conscious of the fact that at that very moment the divine within him and the divine of the universe were most intimately united. So, for Goethe, the resonance with a natural rationality seems part of the genius of modern science. Einstein's 'cosmic religion', which reflects Spinoza, also echoes Goethe's remark (Ibid. , Item 575 from 1829): Man must cling to the belief that the incomprehensible is comprehensible. Else he would give up investigating. But how far will Goethe share the devotion of these cosmic rationalists to the beautiful harmonies of mathematics, so distant from any pure and 'direct observation'? Kepler, Spinoza, Einstein need not, and would not, rest with discovery of a pattern within, behind, as a source of, the phenomenal world, and they would not let even the most profound of descriptive generalities satisfy scientific curiosity. For his part, Goethe sought fundamental archetypes, as in his intuition of a Urpjlanze, basic to all plants, infinitely plastic. When such would be found, Goethe would be content, for (as he said to Eckermann, Feb. 18, 1829): . . . to seek something behind (the Urphaenomenon) is futile. Here is the limit. But as a rule men are not satisfied to behold an Urphaenomenon. They think there must be something beyond. They are like children who, having looked into a mirror, turn it around to see what is on the other side.

Reviews

' This book will be of interest to both historians and philosophers of science ...'
M. Riegner, The Quarterly Review of Biology, vol. 63, September 1988

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Goethe and the Sciences: A Reappraisal

  • Editors: Frederick Amrine, Francis J. Zucker, Harvey Wheeler

  • Series Title: Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3761-1

  • Publisher: Springer Dordrecht

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

  • Copyright Information: D. Reidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland 1987

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-90-277-2400-7Published: 30 June 1987

  • eBook ISBN: 978-94-009-3761-1Published: 06 December 2012

  • Series ISSN: 0068-0346

  • Series E-ISSN: 2214-7942

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: 464

  • Number of Illustrations: 1 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Philosophy of Science

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access