Scientific studies
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Scientific studies
（Goethe's collected works, v.12）（Princeton paperbacks）
Princeton University Press, 1995
- :pbk
Available at / 3 libraries
-
No Libraries matched.
- Remove all filters.
Note
Originally published: New York : Suhrkamp, 1988. (Goethe edition ; v. 12)
Includes bibliographical references
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Goethe's scientific work is less familiar to the reading public than his poetry, yet his understanding of natural phenomena displays the same sensitivity and brilliance as his depictions of human relationships. Based on Goethe's research in anatomy, botany, physics, chemistry, zoology, meteorology, and geology, these forty selections call upon scientists to devlop their perceptions both inwardly and outwardly in pursuing the continuum of nature through an interconnected and living world.
Table of Contents
Introduction xi
I. Methodology and, General Scientific Topics
Nature [A Fragment by Georg Christoph Tobler] 3
A Commentary on the Aphoristic Essay "Nature" (Goethe to Chancellor von Muller) 6
A Study Based on Spinoza 8
The Experiment As Mediator between Object and Subject 11
Fortunate Encounter 18
The Extent to Which the Idea "Beauty Is Perfection in Combination with Freedom" May Be Applied to Living Organisms 22
Empirical Observation and Science 24
Symbolism 26
The Influence of Modern Philosophy 28
Judgment through Intuitive Perception 31
Doubt and Resignation 33
The Formative Impulse 35
A Friendly Greeting 37
Significant Help Given by an Ingenious Turn of Phrase 39
A General Observation 42
Problems 43
Ernst Stiedenroth: A Psychology in Clarification of Phenomena from the Soul (Part One, Berlin: 1824) 45
Natural Philosophy 47
Analysis and Synthesis 48
II. Morphology
Toward a General Comparative Theory 53
Observation on Morphology in General 57
The Enterprise Justified (From On Morphology) 61
The Purpose Set Forth (From On Morphology) 61
The Content Prefaced (From On Morphology) 67
III. Botany
Excerpt from "Studies for a Physiology of Plants" [A Schematic Fragment] The Metamorphosis of Plants 76
An Unreasonable Demand 98
Leaf and Root 99
Remarkable Healing of a Severely Damaged Tree 101
Bignonia radicans 102
Excerpt from "The Spiral Tendency in Vegetation" 105
IV. Zoology
An Intermaxillary Bone Is Present in the Upper Jaw of Man As Well As in Animals (Jena, 1786) Excerpt from "Outline for a General Introduction to Comparative Anatomy, Commencing with Osteology" 117
Excerpt from "Tibia and Fibula" 127
V. Geology
On Granite 131
Suggestions for a Comparative Approach Reconciling the Plutonists and Neptunists on the Question of the Origin of Basalt 135
A More Intense Chemical Activity in Primordial Matter 137
My Relationship to Science, and to Geology in Particular [Outline for an Autobiographical Sketch] 138
VI. Meteorology
Luke Howard to Goethe: a Biographical Sketch 143
Excerpt from "Toward a Theory of Weather" 1825 145
Colors in the Sky 151
VII. Physics
Polarity 155
Theory of Color: Didactic Section 157
Dedication 157
Preface 158
Introduction 163
Part One: Physiological Colors 168
Pathological Colors: A Supplement 185
Part Two: Physical Colors 189
Part Three: Chemical Colors 242
Part Four: General Observations on the Principles of Color 266
Part Five: Relationship to Other Fields 270
Part Six: Sensory-Moral Effect of Color 278
Concluding Observation 297
Theory of Tone [A Schematic Fragment] 299
VIII. Selections from Maxims and Reflections 303
Chronology of Goethe's Scientific Studies 313
Note on the Translation 315
Acknowledgments 318
Notes 319
Index 341
Illustrations
Proliferous Rose frontispiece
Plates following page 206
Skull of a Horse
Human Skull
Plate I from Theory of Color
Plate II from Theory of Color IV
Plate III from Theory of Color V
Plate IV from Theory of Color VI
Plate V from Theory of Color VII
Plate VI from Theory of Color VIII
by "Nielsen BookData"
