In my dissertation belonging to the realm of philosophy I study the naturephilosophical views of J. W. Goethe (1749–1832), specifically his notion of intuitive knowledge, and how it evolved in relation to other views expressed by representatives of the 18th and 19th century philosophical movement known as German Idealism. Goethen natural studies are radically perception-based and often intimately related to his artistic endeavours. As recent studies have shown, Goethe's working method had a major influence on Schelling's and Hegel's philosophical development and inspired their break with Kantian transcendental philosophy and mechanistic worldview. My dissertation also reveals an important historical reference point to the critique towards objectivation and instrumentalism of natural science often posed by contemporary environmental thinking.
J.W.v. Goethe, German Idealism, Philosophy of Nature, Aesthetics