Articles

Abstract:

Today, Goethe is best known for literary works such as his version of Faust. However, he also carried out many scientific studies. His Farbenlehre, which can be translated as Theory of Colours, was his most developed scientific work, first published in German in 1810.

Goethe’s theory contains four main sections – the Didactic Section which is the main theory, a Polemical Section which directly challenges Newton’s Opticks, an Historical Section and a Supplementary Section. Goethe pioneered aspects of contemporary history and philosophy of science within his theory. As he stated in the Preface: “[…] the history of science is science itself.”

Goethe’s theory was derided and largely ignored on its first publication. There are various reasons for this, such as the widespread perceived scientific sin of challenging/attacking Newton’s Opticks, but also some less discussed and more subtle reasons relating to Goethe’s style of science being unfamiliar to many natural philosophers of the time. For instance, Goethe’s approach to scientific enquiry is qualitative and he avoids discussion of theoretical entities such as waves or ‘corpuscles’. In addition, the fact that Goethe conventionally categorised colour phenomena as ‘subjective’ or ‘objective’ but then went much further to show how ‘subjective’ and ‘objective’ weave together to produce our full visual experience was just too much for early 19^th century science to handle. Later, the 20^th century science of colour had to swallow its pride and fully embrace this central element of Goethe’s theory – but rarely giving him due credit. Today, every screen image one looks at is utilising this idea of ‘subjective’ and ‘objective’ weaving together, but most school and university science education still struggles to even countenance the idea of active interchange between the inner life of the human being and the outside world.

The above mentioned factors have held back Goethe’s theory from wider recognition, although it is important to note that the theory has exerted a continuous quiet influence among leading artists and scientists since its first publication. There are popular science pronouncements dismissing lesser known theories and there are the leading edges of art and science, where practitioners often pay little heed to rigid orthodoxies.