Goethe's Way of Science

David Seamon is Professor of Architecture at Kansas State University. He is the editor of several books, including most recently Dwelling, Seeing, and Designing (SUNY Press) and Dwelling, Place, and Environment, and is the author of A Geography of the Lifeworld. Arthur Zajonc is Professor of Physics at Amherst College and has lectured widely on quantum physics. He is the author of Catching the Light: The Entwined History of Light and Mind and coauthor, with George Greenstein, of The Quantum Challenge: Modern Research on the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics.

"…this volume does give some exciting glimpses of what a qualitative science might be like … As an introduction to 'Goethe's way of science,' this book serves wonderfully well … Goethe could hardly have wished for more." — Worldviews"I especially like the fact that a major portion of this book is devoted to presenting the results of Goethean Science research. This sets the book apart from all others that have appeared in English. These few books have been heavy on theory and light on results. The integration of theory with practice makes this an important contribution." — Bruce K. Kirchoff, Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Greensboro"Goethe's Way of Science is a readable, highly original contribution to the study of environment. While challenging common paradigms of positivist, scientific methodology, the book does so unpretentiously, carefully and with much rigor. The range of examples provided by the authors is particularly illumining of the Goethean phenomenology of nature. I recommend this book to ecologists, scientists, philosophers, and students of nature as a thoughtful exploration of alternative ways of seeing the world and its living forms." — Ingrid Leman Stefanovic, Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto"This collection is a dazzling display of what can be done with Goethe's science when applied by competent scholars and researchers. The interplay of approaches (from the philosophical to the poetic, from the biological to the artistic) demonstrates how modern science can find a way out of the Gordian knot it has gotten itself into." — Douglas E. Miller, Department of Foreign Languages, University of Michigan, Flint

• List of Figures Preface Goethe, Nature, and Phenomenology: An IntroductionDavid Seamon 1. Goethe and the Science of His Time: An Historical IntroductionArthur Zajonc PART I. GOETHEAN SCIENCE: PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS 2. The Metamorphosis of the ScientistFrederick Amrine 3. Goethean ScienceWalter Heitler 4. Goethe, Science, and Sensory ExperienceHerbert Hensel 5. The Idea in Nature: Rereading Goethe's OrganicsRonald H. Brady PART II. DOING GOETHEAN SCIENCE 6. Transformations in the Foliage Leaves of the Higher PlantsJochen Bockemühl 7. The Unity of Science and Art: Goethean Phenomenology as a New Ecological DisciplineNigel Hoffmann 8. Horns, Hooves, Spots, and Stripes: Form and Pattern in MammalsMark Riegner 9. Seeing the Animal Whole: The Example of the Horse and LionCraig Holdrege 10. Flowforms and the Language of WaterMark Riegner and John Wilkes PART III. THE FUTURE OF GOETHEAN SCIENCE 11. The Resurrection of Thinking and the Redemption of Faust: Goethe's New Scientific AttitudeAlan P. Cottrell 12. Counterfeit and Authentic Wholes: Finding a Means for Dwelling in NatureHenri Bortoft 13. Light and Cognition: Goethean Studies as a Science of the FutureArthur Zajonc Contributors Index