The scientific work of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) represents a style of learning & understanding which is largely ignored today Modern science tends to break objects down in a purely analytical way; by contrast Goethe was interested in the 'whole' of a phenomenon & in particular the relationship between the object & the observer In this illuminating study Henri Bortoft examines the phenomenological & cultural roots of Goethe's approach to science He argues that Goethe's insights far from belonging to the past represent the foundation for a future science respectful of nature