Significance of Goetheanism

Christoph Hueck (DE)

"Goethe rose spiritually to a comprehensive relationship with nature that our rigorous science cannot yield. ... Goethe's image of the metamorphosis of plants has placed before our eyes the grandeur of living nature. ... The accelerated development of biological research in the direction of genetic engineering ... will result in a horrifying impoverishement of our relationship to nature if we do not begin immediately to take to heart the value of an extensive experience with living form for the cultivation of the soul." (Portmann 1987, p. 144)

"The term Goetheanism can give the impression that it is a special science, a special research method or even an alternative science. ... This attitude to science is [however] an integrated or integrable part of the modern sciences. It is capable of working objectively and making substantial contributions to contemporary natural science, extending some of its basic assumptions." (Rosslenbroich 2022, p. 187)

Literature:

Portmann, Adolf: Goethe and the concept of metamorphosis. In: Goethe and the sciences - a reappraisal. Dordrecht 1987, p. 133-145.

Rosslenbroich, Bernd: Methodische Aspekte bei der Untersuchung der Autonomieentwicklung in der Evolution. In: Edelhäuser, Friedrich; Richter, Ruth; Soldner, Georg: Goetheanismus und Medizin. Dornach 2022, p. 187-203.