Goethean Science
GA 1
14. Goethe's Meteorological Conceptions
[ 1 ] Just as in geology, so in meteorology it would be an error to go into what Goethe actually achieved and consider that to be the main thing. His meteorological experiments are in fact nowhere complete. One can only look everywhere at his intention. His thinking was always directed at finding the pregnant70“Significant Help from One Single Intelligent Word” (“Bedeutende Fördernis durch ein einziges geistreiches Wort”) point from which a series of phenomena governs itself from within outward. Any explanation that takes manifestations, incidentals, from here and there in order to construct a regular series of phenomena was not in accordance with his approach. When confronted by a phenomenon, he looked for everything related to it, for all the facts belonging in the same sphere, in such a way that a whole, a totality, lay before him. Within this sphere, a principle then had to be found that made all the regularity, the whole sphere of related phenomena, in fact, appear as a necessity. It did not seem to him to be in accordance with nature to explain the phenomena in this sphere by introducing circumstances lying outside it. This is where we must seek the key to the principle he set up in meteorology. “More and more each day I felt the complete inadequacy of ascribing such constant phenomena to the planets, to the moon, or to some unknown ebb and flow of the atmosphere ...” “But we reject all such influences; we consider the weather phenomena on earth to be neither cosmic nor planetary, but rather, according to our premises, we must explain them as being purely telluric.” He wanted to trace back the phenomena of the atmosphere to their causes, which lay in the being of the earth itself. The important thing, to begin with, was to find the point where the basic lawfulness that determines everything else expresses itself directly. Barometric pressure provided just such a phenomenon. Goethe then regarded this also as the archetypal phenomenon and sought to connect everything else to it. He tried to follow the rise and fall of the barometer and believed that he also perceived a regularity in it. He studied Schrön's tables and found “that the aforementioned rise and fall follow an almost parallel course at different points of observation, whether nearby or remote, and also in different longitudes, latitudes, and altitudes.” Since this rising and falling seemed to him to be a direct manifestation of gravity, he believed that he saw in barometric changes a direct expression of the quality of the force of gravity itself. But one must not infer anything more from this Goethean explanation. Goethe rejected any setting up of hypotheses. He wanted to provide only an expression for an observable phenomenon, not an actual factual cause, in the sense of present-day natural science. He believed the other atmospheric phenomena should fit in quite well with this phenomenon. The formation of clouds interested the poet most of all. For this, he had found in Howard's teachings a means of grasping the ever-changing forms in certain basic configurations and thus of “firming up with enduring thoughts, something that exists as a changing phenomenon.” He still sought in addition only some means that would help him understand the transformations of the cloud forms, just as he found in that “spiritual ladder” a means of explaining the transformation of the typical leaf shape in the plant. Just as there the spiritual ladder was for him the red thread running through the individual configurations, so here in meteorology it is for him a varying “constitution” (Geeigenschaftetsein) of the atmosphere at varying altitudes. In both cases, we must bear in mind that it could never occur to Goethe to regard such a red thread as a real configuration. He was perfectly aware of the fact that only the individual configuration is to be regarded as real for the senses in space, and that all higher principles of explanation are there only for the eyes of the spirit. Present-day refutations of Goethe are therefore mostly a jousting with windmills. One attributes to his principles a form of reality that he himself denied them and believes one has overcome him in this way. But present-day natural science does not know that form of reality upon which he based things: the objective, concrete idea. From this side, Goethe must therefore remain foreign to present-day science.
14. Die meteorologischen Vorstellungen Goethes
[ 1 ] Gerade so wie in der Geologie irrt man in der Meteorologie, wenn man auf das tatsächlich von Goethe Errungene eingeht und darinnen die Hauptsache sucht (siehe [«Versuch einer Witterungslehre», Abschnitt «Selbstprüfung»] Natw. Schr.., 2. Bd.., S. 397f..). Seine meteorologischen Versuche sind ja nirgends vollendet. Überall ist nur auf die Absicht zu sehen. Sein Denken war immer darauf gerichtet, den prägnanten 97 Siehe den Aufsatz. Bedeutende Fördernis durch ein einziges geistreiches Wort», Natw. Schr., 2. Bd., S. 31ff. Punkt zu finden, von dem aus sich eine Reihe von Erscheinungen von innen heraus regelt. Alle Erklärung, die von da und dort Äußerungen, Zufälliges herbeizieht, um eine regelmäßige Reihe von Phänomenen zu verbinden, war seinem Sinne nicht gemäß. Er suchte, wenn ihm ein Phänomen aufstieß, alles mit ihm Verwandte, alle Tatsachen, die in denselben Kreis gehörten; so daß ihm ein Ganzes, eine Totalität vorlag. Innerhalb dieses Kreises mußte sich dann ein Prinzip finden, das alle Regelmäßigkeit, ja den ganzen Kreis der verwandten Erscheinungen als eine Notwendigkeit erscheinen ließ. Nicht naturgemäß erschien es ihm, die Erscheinungen dieses Kreises durch Herbeiziehung von außerhalb desselben liegenden Verhältnissen zu erklären. Hierinnen haben wir den Schlüssel zu dem Prinzipe, das er in der Meteorologie aufstellte, zu suchen. «Die völlige Unzulänglichkeit, so konstante Phänomene den Planeten, dem Monde, einer unbekannten Ebbe und Flut des Luftkreises zuzuschreiben, ließ sich Tag für Tag mehr empfinden..» 98 Ebenda S. 398 «Alle dergleichen Einwirkungen aber lehnen wir ab; die Witterungserscheinungen auf der Erde halten wir weder für kosmisch noch planetarisch, sondern wir müssen sie nach unseren Prämissen für rein tellurisch erklären..» 99 Ebenda S. 378 Er wollte die Erscheinungen der Atmosphäre auf ihre in dem Wesen der Erde selbst liegenden Ursachen zurückführen. Es handelte sich zunächst darum, den Punkt zu finden, wo sich die alles übrige bedingende Grundgesetzlichkeit unmittelbar ausspricht. Ein solches Phänomen lieferte der Barometerstand. Den sah denn auch Goethe als das Urphänomen an und suchte alles übrige an ihn anzuschließen. Das Steigen und Sinken des Barometers suchte er zu verfolgen und darinnen glaubte er auch eine Regelmäßigkeit wahrzunehmen. Er studierte die Schrönsche Tabelle und fand, «daß gedachtes Steigen und Fallen an verschiedenen, näher und ferner, nicht weniger in unterschiedenen Längen, Breiten und Höhen gelegenen Beobachtungsorten einen fast parallelen Gang habe». 100Ebenda S. 379 Da ihm dieses Steigen und Fallen unmittelbar als Schwereerscheinung erschien, so glaubte er in den Veränderungen des Barometers einen unmittelbaren Ausdruck für die Qualität der Schwerkraft selbst zu erkennen. Man muß in diese Goethesche Erklärung nur nichts weiter hineinlegen. Goethe lehnte ja alles Aufstellen von Hypothesen ab. Er wollte nicht mehr als einen Ausdruck für eine zu beobachtende Erscheinung liefern, nicht eine eigentliche, faktische Ursache, im Sinne der heutigen Naturwissenschaft. An diese Erscheinung sollten die übrigen atmosphärischen Erscheinungen naturgemäß sich anreihen. Am meisten interessierte den Dichter die Wolkenbildung. Für diese hatte er in der Lehre Howards ein Mittel gefunden, die fortwährend schwankenden Gebilde in gewissen Grundzuständen festzuhalten und so, «was in schwankender Erscheinung lebt», mit «dauernden Gedanken zu befestigen». Er suchte nur noch ein Mittel, das der Umbildung der Wolkenformen zu Hilfe kam, sowie er in jener «geistigen Leiter» ein Mittel fand, die Umbildung der typischen Blattgestalt an der Pflanze zu erklären. Sowie ihm dort jene geistige Leiter, so ist ihm in der Meteorologie ein verschiedenes «Geeigenschaftetsein» der Atmosphäre in verschiedenen Höhen der Faden, an dem er die einzelnen Gebilde befestigt. Da wie dort muß man festhalten, daß es Goethe nie einfallen konnte, einen solchen Faden für ein wirkliches Gebilde anzusehen. Er war sich genau bewußt, daß nur das einzelne Gebilde als für die Sinne im Raume wirklich anzusehen ist, und daß alle höheren Erklärungsprinzipien nur für die Augen des Geistes da sind. Heutige Widerlegungen Goethes sind deshalb vielfach ein Kampf mit Windmühlen. Man legt seinen Prinzipien eine Wirklichkeitsform bei, die er ihnen selbst absprach, und glaubt ihn damit überwunden zu haben. Jene Form der Realität aber, die er zugrunde legte, die objektive, konkrete Idee, kennt die heutige Naturlehre nicht. Goethe muß ihr daher von dieser Seite aus fremd bleiben..*
14. Goethe's Meteorological Ideas
[ 1 ] Just as in geology, one is mistaken in meteorology if one looks at what Goethe actually achieved and seeks the main thing therein (see ["Versuch einer Witterungslehre", section "Selbstprüfung"] Natw. Schr., 2nd vol., pp. 397f.). His meteorological experiments are nowhere complete. Everywhere only the intention is to be seen. His thinking was always directed towards the pregnant 97 see the essay. Bedeutende Fördernis durch ein einziges geistreiches Wort", Natw. Schr., 2nd vol., p. 31ff. to find the point from which a series of phenomena regulate themselves from within. All explanations that draw on random phenomena from here and there to connect a regular series of phenomena were not in keeping with his spirit. When a phenomenon struck him, he looked for everything related to it, all the facts that belonged to the same circle, so that he had a whole, a totality. Within this circle a principle had to be found which made all regularity, indeed the whole circle of related phenomena, appear as a necessity. It did not seem natural to him to explain the phenomena of this circle by drawing on relationships lying outside it. This is the key to the principle he established in meteorology. "The utter inadequacy of attributing such constant phenomena to the planets, to the moon, to an unknown ebb and flow of the atmosphere, was felt more and more every day..." 98 Ebenda p. 398 "But we reject all such influences; we consider the weather phenomena on earth to be neither cosmic nor planetary, but we must declare them to be purely telluric according to our premises..." 99 Ebenda p. 378 He wanted to trace the phenomena of the atmosphere back to their causes lying in the nature of the Earth itself. First of all, he wanted to find the point where the basic law that determines everything else is directly expressed. One such phenomenon was the barometer reading. Goethe regarded it as the primal phenomenon and sought to link everything else to it. He tried to follow the rise and fall of the barometer and believed he could perceive a regularity in it. He studied Schrön's table and found "that the imaginary rise and fall at different observation points, nearer and further away, no less at different longitudes, latitudes and altitudes, have an almost parallel course". 100Ebenda p. 379 Since this rise and fall appeared to him directly as a phenomenon of gravity, he believed to recognize in the changes of the barometer a direct expression of the quality of gravity itself. It is not necessary to read anything more into this Goethean explanation. Goethe rejected all hypotheses. He wanted to provide nothing more than an expression for an observable phenomenon, not an actual, factual cause in the sense of today's natural science. The other atmospheric phenomena should naturally follow on from this appearance. The poet was most interested in cloud formation. For this he had found in Howard's teaching a means of holding the constantly fluctuating formations in certain basic states and thus "fixing what lives in fluctuating appearance" with "permanent thoughts". He was only looking for a means to help the transformation of cloud forms, just as he found a means in that "spiritual ladder" to explain the transformation of the typical leaf shape on the plant. In meteorology, just as he found that spiritual ladder there, so in meteorology the different "properties" of the atmosphere at different altitudes is the thread to which he attaches the individual formations. Here, as there, it must be noted that it never occurred to Goethe to regard such a thread as a real structure. He was well aware that only the individual entity is to be regarded as real for the senses in space, and that all higher principles of explanation are only there for the eyes of the mind. Today's refutations of Goethe are therefore often a battle against windmills. People attribute to his principles a form of reality that he himself denied them, and thus believe they have overcome him. However, the form of reality that he took as a basis, the objective, concrete idea, is not known in today's theory of nature. Goethe must therefore remain alien to it from this point of view.*