Author(s): Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Rudolf Steiner

A systematic arrangement of extracts from Goethe's major scientific works which reveal how fundamentally different his approach was to scientific study of the natural world. According to Goethe, our deepest knowledge of phenomena can arise only from a contemplative relationship with nature, in which our feelings of awe and wonder are intrinsic. As conceived by him, science is as much a path of inner development as it is a way to accumulating knowledge. It therefore involves a rigorous training of our faculties of observation and thinking. From a Goethe standpoint, our modern ecological crisis is a crisis of relationship to nature. Goethe shows us a path of sensitive science which holds the potential for healing both nature and ourselves.