Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Click image for large view

Born in Frankfurt A.M., August 28, 1749. Poet, dramatist, scientist, traveler, state minister, etc., author of Faust, Wilhelm Meister, and many other works. Died in Weimar, March 22, 1832. In August 1781 the Grand Duchess Amalia of Saxe-Weimar founded the Tiefurter Journal, the Journal of Tiefurt, to which Goethe contributed at her invitation. When Rudolf Steiner was active as editor of the natural scientific writings of Goethe at the Goethe-Schiller Archives in Weimar, he published proof that the Fragment uber die Natur, The Fragment concerning Nature, which had appeared in the Journal of Tiefurt was definitely to be attributed to Goethe (Schriften der Goethe-Gesellschaft, Publications of the Goethe Society, ed. by Bernhard Suphan, Weimar, Vol. VII, 1892, article by Rudolf Steiner). Thus, just 110 years after the Fragment had appeared, Rudolf Steiner showed its importance and its relationship to Goethe's work. In the edition of Goethe's works published by Prof. Joseph Kürschner (1853–1902) (the volumes of Goethe's natural scientific writings edited by Rudolf Steiner), the Fragment appears at the beginning of the essays “On Natural Science in General,” Vol. XXXIV, p. 1. The Fragment appeared in an English translation with notes by George Adams under the title, Nature — An Essay in Aphorisms, Anthroposophical Quarterly, London, Vol. VII, No. 1, Easter, 1932, pp. 2–5. In his Goethe's Conception of the World, Rudolf Steiner describes this Fragment as “the essay in which the seeds of the later Goethean world-conception are already to be found. What is here expressed as dim feeling, later developed into clear, definite thought.” In similar vein, George Witkowski in his well-known biography of Goethe (Leipzig, 1899) describes this Fragment as “the seed from which came all of Goethe's great thoughts about nature.”

The following titles are available for download using Amazon Kindle:

by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:

The Fairy Tale of the Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily

This magical tale tells of a group of people whose world has turned upside-down and who must bring about spiritual and social renewal. It still sparkles as it did when originally told by Goethe to a group of fellow travelers during the French revolution.

Das Märchen (The Tale)

Another edition of this Goethean classic, this time from a reprint of an article in Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country, October, 1832. This edition has an introduction, and commentary throughout the Tale.

by Rudolf Steiner:

[the GA number refers to the Gesamptausgabe Number from the Bibliographical Survey of 1961 for the collected works of Rudolf Steiner.]

Goethean Science (Goethe the Scientist [GA 1])

Rudolf Steiner went to Weimar to edit the scientific writings of Goethe for the Kürschner edition of the “German National Literature.” Along with sorting and arranging Goethe's works, Steiner wrote introductions and commentaries that have been collected and published in English translation under the titles Goethe the Scientist or Goethean Science.

GA 1 Selections ...

Goethes Naturwissenschaftliche Schriften

In den Jahren 1884–1897 besorgte Rudolf Steiner für Kürschners «Deutsche National-Litteratur» die Herausgabe von Goethes Naturwissenschaftlichen Schriften (siehe GA 1 a-e).

Sämtliche seiner dazu verfaßten Einleitungen sind in diesem Band enthalten. Die intensive Beschäftigung mit der Anschauungsweise Goethes war der Ausgangspunkt für Steiners erkenntnistheoretische Arbeiten und hat sich auch auf sein gesamtes Werk ausgewirkt.

Goethean Science

Chapter titles: Introduction, How Goethe's Theory of Metamorphosis Arose, How Goethe's Thoughts on the Development of the Animals Arose, The Nature and Significance of Goethe's Writings on Organic Morphology, Concluding Remarks on Goethe's Morphological Views, Goethe's Way of Knowledge, The Arrangement of Goethe's Natural-scientific Writings, From Art to Science, Goethe's Epistemology, Knowing and Human Action in the Light of Goethean Way of Thinking, Relationship of the Goethean Way of Thinking to Other Views, Goethe and Mathematics, Goethe's Basic Geological Principle, Goethe's Meteorological Conceptions, Goethe and Natural-scientific Illusionism, Goethe as Thinker and Investigator, Goethe Against Atomism, Goethe's World View in his "Aphorisms in Prose."

 

 

The Theory of Knowledge Based on Goethe's World Conception [GA 2]

The basis of a theory of the Goethean world view, with special reference to Schiller, as well as an addition to Goethe's "Scientific Writings" in Kürschner's "German National Literature." Almost forty years after his early works on this subject, Rudolf Steiner wrote: "By putting this before me again today, it appears to be the epistemological foundation and justification of all that I published later. It speaks of a way of perceiving that opens the physically apparent world into the spiritual/intellectual."

GA 2 Selections ...

Grundlinien einer Erkenntnistheorie der Goetheschen Weltanschauung, mit besonderer Rücksicht auf Schiller

Zu dieser seiner frühen Schrift schreibt Rudolf Steiner fast vierzig Jahre nach ihrem Entstehen folgendes: «Indem ich sie heute wieder vor mich hinstelle, erscheint sie mir auch als die erkenntnistheoretische Grundlegung und Rechtfertigung von alle dem, was ich später gesagt und veröffentlicht habe. Sie spricht von einem Weg des Erkennens, das den Weg freilegt von der sinnenfälligen Welt in die geistige hinein.»

The Science of Knowing

This edition of The Science of Knowing is a new translation of Grundlinien einer Erkenntnistheorie der Goetheschen Weltanschauung mit besonderer Rücksicht auf Schiller (Bibliographie No. 2), 7th edition GAS 1979, published by the Rudolf Steiner Nachlassverwaltung, Dornach, Switzerland. This translation, from the original German, is by William Lindeman. A prior translation is available under the title A Theory of Knowledge, published by the Anthroposophic Press.

The Theory of Knowledge Implicit in Goethe's World Conception

In this book, first appearing in 1886, Steiner approaches the epistemological question, how does one know? His point of departure in the more-or-less unexpressed epistemology of Goethe in his scientific writings and elsewhere. This is not a textbook on epistemology, but it is a good introduction to Goethe's methodology.

 

 

Goethe's Conception of the World [GA 6]

Here, Goethe's outlook is presented not only as a self-contained system, but also in connection with the ideas of Schiller and Hegel. A certain emphasis on Platonism is made, and its bearing on Goethe and his outlook. Chapters emphasize Goethe's work, such as the process of metamorphosis, and studies in color. Published in English translation under the titles Goethe's Conception of the World and Goethe's World View.

GA 6 Selections ...

Goethe's World View

Goethe's outlook is presented here not only as a self-contained system, but also in connection with the ideas of Schiller and Hegel. This edition of Goethe's World View is a new translation by William Lindeman from Goethe's Weltanschauung (Goethe's Conception of the World).

 

 

Goetheanism as an Impulse for Transformation [from GA 188]

A lecture, hitherto untranslated given at Dornach on January 24, 1919. It is the seventh of twelve lectures in the volume Goetheanism as an Impulse for Transformation ... Human Science and Social Science. A Turning-point in Modern History. In the collected edition of Rudolf Steiner's works, the volume containing the German texts is entitled, Der Goetheanismus, Ein Umwandlungsimpuls und Auferstehungsgedanke. Menschenwissenschaft und Sozialwissenschaft (Vol. 188 in the Bibliographic Survey, 1961).

 

 

The Spiritual-Scientific Basis of Goethe's Work [from GA 35]

This address was given on July 10, 1906 in London, England at the Second Annual Congress of the Federation of European Sections of the Theosophical Society. It has been edited for this printing by the publisher.

The German text is published under the title Die okkulte Grundlage in Goethes Schaffen, Bibl. No. 35 by the Rudolf Steiner-Nachlassverwaltung, Dornach, Switzerland.

 

 

“Goethe als Vater einer neuen Ästhetik” [from GA 30]

Goethe as the Founder of a New Science of Aesthetics is an essay written in 1888: Wien, 9. November 1888 – Autoreferat.