Goethe and the Physicists

In recent years several noted physicists suggested that renewed attention should be paid to Goethe, the author of the Farbenlehre, as this work may contain the clues for a satisfactory synthesis between the objective and the subjective. The paper gives a summary of their views, and probes into Goethe's motivations and procedures as regards his avid pursuit of the investigation of colors. The history of the reaction of physicists to the Farbenlehre suggests that its author can hardly be considered as a safe guide toward a culture surmounting the division between science and the humanities.