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Goethe's "Exposure Of Newton's Theory": A Polemic On Newton's Theory Of Light And Colour - Couverture souple

Duck, Michael John

 
9781783265886: Goethe's "Exposure Of Newton's Theory": A Polemic On Newton's Theory Of Light And Colour
Couverture souple
ISBN 10 : 1783265884 ISBN 13 : 9781783265886
Editeur : Icp, 2016

Synopsis

"This welcome translation brings into view an extraordinary episode and fascinating moment in the story of 'two cultures'." David Knight Durham University Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, although best known for his literary work, was also a keen and outspoken natural scientist. In the second polemic part of Zur Farbenlehre (Theory of Colours), for example, Goethe attacked Isaac Newton's ground-breaking revelation that light is heterogeneous and not immutable, as was previously thought. This polemic was unanimously rejected by the physicists of the day, and has often been omitted from compendia of Goethe's works. Indeed, although Goethe repeated all of Newton's key experiments, he was never able to achieve the same results. Many reasons have been proposed for this, ranging from the psychological - such as a blind hatred of Newtonism, self-deceit and paranoid psychosis - to accusations of incapability - Goethe simply did not understand the experiments. Yet Goethe was never to be dissuaded from this passionate conviction. This translation of Goethe's polemic, published for the first time in English, makes it clear that Goethe did understand the thrust of Newton's logic. It demonstrates that Goethe's resistance to Newton's theory stemmed from something quite different; his pantheism - the belief in the spiritual nature of light. This prevented him from allowing himself to think of light in physical terms and accepting that it is anything other than simple, immutable, and unknowable. This important new translation will be useful to natural scientists, historians, philosophers and theologians alike and will delight anyone hoping to add a further layer of nuance to Goethe's complex portrait.

Les informations fournies dans la section « Synopsis » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Présentation de l'éditeur

"This welcome translation brings into view an extraordinary episode and fascinating moment in the story of 'two cultures'." David Knight Durham University Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, although best known for his literary work, was also a keen and outspoken natural scientist. In the second polemic part of Zur Farbenlehre (Theory of Colours), for example, Goethe attacked Isaac Newton's ground-breaking revelation that light is heterogeneous and not immutable, as was previously thought. This polemic was unanimously rejected by the physicists of the day, and has often been omitted from compendia of Goethe's works. Indeed, although Goethe repeated all of Newton's key experiments, he was never able to achieve the same results. Many reasons have been proposed for this, ranging from the psychological - such as a blind hatred of Newtonism, self-deceit and paranoid psychosis - to accusations of incapability - Goethe simply did not understand the experiments. Yet Goethe was never to be dissuaded from this passionate conviction. This translation of Goethe's polemic, published for the first time in English, makes it clear that Goethe did understand the thrust of Newton's logic. It demonstrates that Goethe's resistance to Newton's theory stemmed from something quite different; his pantheism - the belief in the spiritual nature of light. This prevented him from allowing himself to think of light in physical terms and accepting that it is anything other than simple, immutable, and unknowable. This important new translation will be useful to natural scientists, historians, philosophers and theologians alike and will delight anyone hoping to add a further layer of nuance to Goethe's complex portrait.

Biographie de l'auteur

Michael Petry is Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, London.

The German poet, novelist, playwright, courtier, scientist, and philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) ranks among the greatest authors of Western literature. His best known writings include The Sorrows of Young Werther (his first novel) and Faust (a drama in two parts).

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Éditeur
Icp
Date d'édition
2016
Langue
anglais
ISBN 10 
1783265884
ISBN 13 
9781783265886
Reliure
Broché
Nombre de pages
290
Coordonnées du fabricant
non disponible
Personne responsable
GPSR Kontakt
gpsr@libri.de

Europaallee 1
Bad Hersfeld
36244
Allemagne

Autres éditions populaires du même titre

9781783268474: Goethe's "Exposure of Newton's Theory": A Polemic on Newton's Theory of Light and Colour

Edition présentée

ISBN 10 :  1783268476 ISBN 13 :  9781783268474
Editeur : Imperial College Press, 2016
Couverture rigide