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Engaging in the Goethean Method
could be different involves using the language that has developed to embody how it is always
assumed to be. For example, even when we talk of the environment, the use of ‘the’ separates us
and places us outside of that in which we are actually environed. The process of Goethean observation is a honing of the human being as a scientifc instrument. If this is what we are going to be
engaged in, understanding the starting point – that is, our normal way of thinking and being – is
going to be essential.
To clear the workspace, we need to take a preliminary look at what is actually there and how it
usually works. In the Goethean process, this is done by approaching your chosen phenomenon in a
normal, everyday way and then setting down your frst impressions in whatever form they may take.
Examples of the kinds of impressions that can emerge in this part of the process are: your habitual
likes and dislikes, how you might use it, feelings of boredom or anger, snippets of information,
inspiring ideas or urges to put something right and so on. What is different, and what makes this
the pre-stage of a process, is that instead of acting on these impressions or continuing them with
further thoughts or day-dreams, we consciously lay them out for inspection and then set them aside.
Keeping a record of these thoughts and feelings is an important part of the process. By naming
attitudes and presuppositions that are in the background, you can spot when they might creep in to
your work in the later stages of the process. That said, a frst impression may be very perceptive and
its veracity may re-emerge later on.
What should become apparent is just how much the Goethean method involves self-examination
and critical refection. It is a qualitative approach to the world, but not one that revels in undisciplined subjectivity.
Before moving on, you need to have made some notes about your usual thoughts and feelings
about your phenomenon. A small journey into speculation about the origins of those attitudes can
be helpful, but without holding up the next stages of the process that need to be worked through far
more slowly.
STAGE ONE: EXACT SENSE PERCEPTION
The frst proper stage is characterised by standing away from that very personal frst encounter
and observing the phenomenon freshly. Try to experience your chosen phenomenon as if you had
never seen it before. From that perception, begin to record all that you can about the phenomenon.
Recording as you go is important: have a note book and writing/drawing materials to hand. It is
important to remember that you have multiple senses, so don’t just concentrate on sight. With plants,
smell and texture are obviously important as is, for example, response to the wind. Taste can also
be explored – with caution (do check that your plant is not known to be poisonous before tasting it).
You are in a process of meeting a being and, as the pre-stage emphasised, you need to do that on
its own terms without overlaying it with your own preconceptions or normal ways of thinking. Not
only personal feelings, but also any known theories about a phenomenon need to be held back in
order to let the ‘facts’ speak for themselves. This practice can be seen in Goethe’s extraordinarily
detailed observations of colour phenomena. Rather than draw hasty hypotheses or work from an
existing theory, such as Newton’s, his painstaking investigations followed every conceivable avenue
of experimentation (Sepper, 1988). Thus for Goethe, fnding out about the nature of colour involved
aspects such as: complimentary colour afterimages, how artists use colour, how dyers use reagents
and so on, rather than just the latest ideas on colour from physics.
Recording your observations can be done in a number of ways such as writing detailed descriptions. However, drawing the phenomenon is one of the best ways to focus your attention on the
hitherto unnoticed detail and the relationships between parts. If your aim is to really see a particular tree that happens to be an oak, drawing can be very helpful to prevent you slipping into your
usual ‘seeing oak trees’ mode of perception. Artists have the additional problem of having to avoid
their personal ‘drawing style’ infuenced mode of perception. The categorised artefact that your
usual mode of perception creates, must be ignored in order to let you see the oak tree as if you had
Engaging in the Goethean Method
could be different involves using the language that has developed to embody how it is always
assumed to be. For example, even when we talk of the environment, the use of ‘the’ separates us
and places us outside of that in which we are actually environed. The process of Goethean observation is a honing of the human being as a scientifc instrument. If this is what we are going to be
engaged in, understanding the starting point – that is, our normal way of thinking and being – is
going to be essential.
To clear the workspace, we need to take a preliminary look at what is actually there and how it
usually works. In the Goethean process, this is done by approaching your chosen phenomenon in a
normal, everyday way and then setting down your frst impressions in whatever form they may take.
Examples of the kinds of impressions that can emerge in this part of the process are: your habitual
likes and dislikes, how you might use it, feelings of boredom or anger, snippets of information,
inspiring ideas or urges to put something right and so on. What is different, and what makes this
the pre-stage of a process, is that instead of acting on these impressions or continuing them with
further thoughts or day-dreams, we consciously lay them out for inspection and then set them aside.
Keeping a record of these thoughts and feelings is an important part of the process. By naming
attitudes and presuppositions that are in the background, you can spot when they might creep in to
your work in the later stages of the process. That said, a frst impression may be very perceptive and
its veracity may re-emerge later on.
What should become apparent is just how much the Goethean method involves self-examination
and critical refection. It is a qualitative approach to the world, but not one that revels in undisciplined subjectivity.
Before moving on, you need to have made some notes about your usual thoughts and feelings
about your phenomenon. A small journey into speculation about the origins of those attitudes can
be helpful, but without holding up the next stages of the process that need to be worked through far
more slowly.
STAGE ONE: EXACT SENSE PERCEPTION
The frst proper stage is characterised by standing away from that very personal frst encounter
and observing the phenomenon freshly. Try to experience your chosen phenomenon as if you had
never seen it before. From that perception, begin to record all that you can about the phenomenon.
Recording as you go is important: have a note book and writing/drawing materials to hand. It is
important to remember that you have multiple senses, so don’t just concentrate on sight. With plants,
smell and texture are obviously important as is, for example, response to the wind. Taste can also
be explored – with caution (do check that your plant is not known to be poisonous before tasting it).
You are in a process of meeting a being and, as the pre-stage emphasised, you need to do that on
its own terms without overlaying it with your own preconceptions or normal ways of thinking. Not
only personal feelings, but also any known theories about a phenomenon need to be held back in
order to let the ‘facts’ speak for themselves. This practice can be seen in Goethe’s extraordinarily
detailed observations of colour phenomena. Rather than draw hasty hypotheses or work from an
existing theory, such as Newton’s, his painstaking investigations followed every conceivable avenue
of experimentation (Sepper, 1988). Thus for Goethe, fnding out about the nature of colour involved
aspects such as: complimentary colour afterimages, how artists use colour, how dyers use reagents
and so on, rather than just the latest ideas on colour from physics.
Recording your observations can be done in a number of ways such as writing detailed descriptions. However, drawing the phenomenon is one of the best ways to focus your attention on the
hitherto unnoticed detail and the relationships between parts. If your aim is to really see a particular tree that happens to be an oak, drawing can be very helpful to prevent you slipping into your
usual ‘seeing oak trees’ mode of perception. Artists have the additional problem of having to avoid
their personal ‘drawing style’ infuenced mode of perception. The categorised artefact that your
usual mode of perception creates, must be ignored in order to let you see the oak tree as if you had