The Rudolf Steiner Archive

On Natural Science in General. Mineralogy and Geology II

[Introduction to the readings, Volume 10, pp. 211-214:]

The tenth volume of scientific writings relates to its predecessor in much the same way as, in terms of botany, the seventh relates to the sixth: it supplements and expands upon it. The character of Goethe's geological works made it possible to apply the principle followed earlier even more strictly here: to include in one volume everything that appears to be deductively justified on the basis of Goethe's general worldview and forms an organic whole, and to include in the other volume everything that has been gained inductively from individual objects. The present volume therefore contains all essays that deal with formulating, directly on the basis of experience, the principles and terminology of the dynamism in geology advocated by Goethe in contrast to atomism. The decisive factor in deciding whether an essay should be included in the text or in the “Paralipomena” was whether it occupies an independent position in methodological terms due to its content or line of argument, as in 32-36, 90-97 compared to vol. 9, 10-34 and 253-258, or whether it should be regarded merely as stylistic preliminary work for another essay that has been handed down. Actual preliminary work was only included in the text if it contained ideas that were a necessary link in the context and that had either not been finalized by Goethe or had not been handed down to us in such a form.

In accordance with the nature of the material, the volume is divided into three main parts. 1. Basic mineralogical and geological concepts, developed in connection with corresponding natural objects. This section summarizes everything Goethe put forward to justify his geological terminology. 2. Fundamental laws of action in inorganic nature, from crystallization to the formation of entire mountain ranges. 3. Descriptions of geological objects and phenomena under specific local conditions.

The first section begins with the essay: “On the expression porphyritic,” which Goethe, according to his diary, began to dictate on March 12, 1812, following his reading of von Raumer's work “Geognostic Fragments.” The idea expressed in the essay, that a composite mineral was not created by the aggregation of parts, but by the differentiation of an original unity, is also the prevailing idea in the following parts of the section, which in part only provide further evidence for this, as on pp. 18-19, and partly show that it still holds true even when external disturbances cause material formations to take a course that does not allow the differentiation of the basic mass to be recognized at first glance. This series includes pp. 20-45 with remarks on: disturbed formation, breccia formation, apparent conglomerates, etc. They explain rock formations from the point of view of the separation of originally unsorted materials under different conditions, such as the predominance of one component (p. 41), formation in volcanic or Neptunian environments, and the like. The essay “King Coal” forms a kind of summary of the previous section. pp. 52-53 convey the transition from rock formation to mountain formation. Based on the travelogue by Johann Rudolph Meyer and Hieronymus Meyer, Goethe seeks to explain the consequences of glaciers, the “Goufferlinien,” as a natural effect of the forces active in glacier movement. The discussion of this simple phenomenon was followed by essays on the stratification of mountain masses, on vein formation and related topics, such as the tearing apart of inorganic masses and the like: pp. 54-75.

The second section begins with a discussion of the formation of inorganic forms (pp. 75-82) of solid matter; followed by (pp. 83-84) thoughts on the formation of solids and liquids (coagulation). Goethe wrote the essay on the “Formation of Gemstones” (pp. 85-87) when he received a request from the geologist Leonhard in March 1816 asking for his opinion on the question of the origin of these natural objects. The thoughts expressed here lead on to the explanations of the chemical forces involved in the formation of rocks and mountains, to which the remarks on “Chemical Forces in Mountain Formation” (pp. 88-89) are devoted. The chapter “Ice Age” has been given a coherent consideration by Goethe in the sketches on pp. 90-97. These contain all the data that Goethe was able to compile in order to provide an inductive basis for his views on this important geological period, while he developed his ideas on this subject in the essay: “Geological Problems and Attempts at Their Resolution.” From the last main part of the volume, the section relating to the Leitmeritz district and especially to the tin formation was separated as a special chapter (pp. 101-126). Goethe had the contents of this chapter bound into a file and sent it to Knebel for review on January 3, 1814, with an introductory letter. This chapter forms a whole because it deals with a formation within a specific area and was conceived by Goethe himself as a self-contained unit. Pages 129-182 contain material relating to the field of purely topographical geology. This chapter does not contain mere lists of mineral and rock collections, but only those that are based on an idea rooted in Goethe's geological views as the principle for enumerating individual objects, or to which such an idea is linked as a conclusion. The notes on “Mineralogy of Thuringia and neighboring countries” are bound into a fascicle in the order reproduced here, which also contains notes and essays on Thuringian geological conditions that were not written by Goethe himself and date from the early 1880s. The geological remarks on pages 135-137 are Goethe's diary-like notes from his journey through Thuringia in May 1782. The information on Bohemian minerals (pp. 142-150) was written down in Eger in 1822. (See Tag- und Jahreshefte 1822.)

What could not be accommodated in any of the three sections, such as thoughts on a letter and a book by the geologist von Eschwege (pp. 183-185), a paleontological essay (pp. 186-188), and the treatise on the natural phenomenon that can be observed at the Temple of Jupiter Serapis near Pozzuoli, and finally a discussion of geological methods, were placed in an appendix at the end of the volume. The essay on geological methods finds its appropriate place here because it indicates how Goethe conceives of the deductive and inductive methods as merging into a unified higher view of nature. In this way, it also brings volumes nine and ten together into a whole.

The editor of the volume is Rudolf Steiner; Bernhard Suphan is involved as redactor.

[Selected texts in the readings:]

[5.231] On the formation of gemstones. [...] On February 15, 1816, Leonhard sent Goethe a letter asking him several questions about the formation of gemstones. He first asked whether gemstones, “these blossoms of the inorganic world, should not be regarded as formations of the primordial epoch?” He said: "There is something profound in seeking in those perfect phenomena, so clearly attested by their manifold protruding features, the products of a time that belongs to the youthful age of our planet. And where do we find the evidence to support this hypothesis? The types of mountains that contain the gemstones, the deposits that harbor them, the fossils from which they appear to have been prepared—what conclusions do they justify, and what clues do they offer? What can be deduced from the observation of the components of the mixture in favor of this view? What does their climatic distribution indicate, and what does their local occurrence indicate? How do we interpret the sparse appearance of these lovely gifts from nature, which is otherwise so lavish?

In his reply of April 29, 1816, Goethe placed the main emphasis on the question: “whether gemstones can be treated separately and assigned a specific period of origin in nature.” He believes that gemstones can still be formed, that there is no fixed boundary between gemstones and non-gemstones, and that gemstones can only be considered as a whole from an empirical point of view, not from a scientific one. He advises Leonhard to base their treatment on their occurrence. This letter was written on the basis of the previously written essay printed in the text.

[Preliminary remark on the following text by Goethe: WA II 10, 85-87; LA 111, 171-172]