Goethe's Art of Science : A Guide to Goethe’s Scientific Method

J. W. von Goethe contributed to comparative biology and systematic theory. He is acknowledged as both a scientist and a writer. Goethe’s scientific interest was plant and animal morphology; his methods are familiar to today’s taxonomists. The book provides 21st century context for Goethe’s scientific work, and a compendium of his science.

This book places Goethe’s scientific method into context for 21st-century scientists and science. Moreover, Goethe’s Art of Science is an excellent compendium for scientists interested in 18th-century and early 19th-century geology, colour theory and comparative biology. Few scientists realise that Goethe contributed a significant body of work on geology, the theory of colour, and comparative biology. Goethe’s main concern was developing his scientific method called Morphology, which involved observing and describing form, whether it be minerals, rocks, the interaction of colour, or organisms, the latter which many taxonomists would be familiar with today. Goethe’s scientific legacy was hampered by his Neptunist ideas in geology, and his criticism of Newton on colour theory. Nevertheless, his view that our interaction as observers with natural phenomena was a fundamental principle that can be applied across many different scientific fields. In order to raise the awareness of Goethe’s scientific method this book will:• Provide a detailed description of his method, Morphology. • Investigate his geological writings and how they were hampered by his Neptunist thinking. • Demonstrate his Theory of Colours and how Anschauung and the Urphenomenon were crucial to his method. • Follow the development of Goethe’s plant and animal morphology. • Explore what Goethe thought about his own scientific legacy and provide a list of his scientific achievements and honours. • Provide new English translations of Goethe’s writings.