Abstract
For many, the business of science is to search for causes. So when the would-be scientist Goethe declares to Schiller that “. . . we are not seeking causes but the circumstances under which the phenomenon occurs” (‘Erfahrung und Wissenschaft’: HA 13, p. 25; Goethe, 1952, p. 228), he seems to be missing the point of the scientific enterprise. He only makes matters worse by maintaining that, “Man in thinking errs particularly when inquiring after cause and effect; the two together constitute the indissoluble phenomenon . . . [‘Maximen und Reflexionen’, 591: HA 12, p. 446]. “It is rightly said that the phenomenon is a consequence without a ground, an effect without a cause [Goethe, Maximen . . ., 590: HA 12, p. 446].
Originally read at a joint symposium sponsored by the Boston Colloquium for the Philosophy of Science and the Departments of Germanic Languages and History of Science at Harvard University, 3–4 December 1982. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the very considerable assistance which Professor Frederick Amrine so willingly provided in matters of both content and style. His criticisms served always to clarify and strengthen this essay. I owe much also to conversations with Professors Ron Brady, Alan Cottrell and Mr. Christopher Bamford.
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Zajonc, A.G. (1987). Facts as Theory: Aspects of Goethe’s Philosophy of Science. In: Amrine, F., Zucker, F.J., Wheeler, H. (eds) Goethe and the Sciences: A Reappraisal. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol 97. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3761-1_12
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