Articles

Qualities of Colour

Malin Starrett
Elemente der Naturwissenschaft 114, 2021, P. 24-51 | DOI: 10.18756/edn.114.24
Article | Language: English | €6.00
Export Article Citation as

Abstract:

The validity of various viewpoints are recognised regarding some of Isaac Newton’s Crossed Prisms experiments. Newton’s own viewpoint is placed alongside Goethe’s viewpoint(s) and also the soul-spiritual viewpoint of Rudolf Steiner, as discussed in his Light-Course lectures. From considering Goethe’s approaches to these and similar phenomena, a novel understanding of his Theory of Colour is made obvious – that Goethe was utilising at least two different viewpoints regarding the formation of prismatic colour phenomena within his theory. The soul-spiritual viewpoint presented by Rudolf Steiner in his Light-Course can be seen as a development of two different viewpoints within Goethe’s theory. Some new variations of Newton’s Crossed Prisms experiments are also described, which explore the action of prisms on actual spectral colours as compared to photographs of spectral colours. When compared in this way, substantially different behaviours are displayed.

Keywords: Goethe’s Theory, Newton’s Opticks, Steiner’s Light-Course, Active Vision, Crossed Prisms Experiments, Newton’s Experiment 5, Newton’s Experiment 7, Colour Quality, Goethe’s Polemic.

References
  • Berkeley, G. (1709): An Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision. In: Fraser, A.: Selections from Berkeley 1891 (4th edition).
  • Goethe, J.W. (1784–1820): Goethe’s Naturwissenschaftliche Schriften. Ed. by Rudolf Steiner. Dornach 1975.
  • Goethe, J.W. (1810a): Theory of Color. (Didactic Section) In: Scientific Studies, edited and translated by Miller, D. Princeton N.J. 1995.
  • Goethe, J.W. (1810b): Goethe’s “exposure of Newton’s theory”: a polemic on Newton’s theory of light and colour. (Polemic Section), translated by Duck, M. and Petry, M. London 2016.
  • Goumas et al. (2019): Herring gulls respond to human gaze direction. Biology Letters. 15(8).
  • Jay, M. (1993): Downcast Eyes – The Denigration of Vision in Twentieth- Century French Thought. California.
  • Kühl, J. (2015): Light in Relationship with Matter. (Public lecture) 13.06.2015. Field Centre, England.
  • Land, E. (1959): Experiments in Color Vision. Scientific American 200, pp. 84–99.
  • Margolis, J. (2013): The Secret Life of Uri Geller – CIA Masterspy? London.
  • Newton, I. (1704): Opticks. New York 1979.
  • Sepper, D. (1988): Goethe Contra Newton – Polemics and the project for a new science of color. Cambridge, England.
  • Starrett, M. (2003): The Phenomenon of Coloured Shadows. Science Group of the Anthroposophical Society in Great Britain Newsletter. September 2003, pp. 3–7.
  • Starrett, M. (2018): Qualities of Colour. (Lecture with experiments) 29.09.2018, Steiner Research Days. Glasshouse, England.
  • Starrett, M. (2019): Color Me Bad: 60 Years of the Land Controversy. (Conference paper with experiments) 19.10.2019, History of Science, Technology and Medicine Network Ireland Conference, Ulster University, Belfast.
  • Steiner, R. (1925): Light – First Scientific Lecture Course (Light-Course). Translated by Adams, G. Lectures of 24.12., 25.12., 27.12., 29.12., 30.12.1919. England 1987, GA 320.
  • Steiner, R. (1904): Theosophy. Translated by Creeger, C. New York 1994, GA 9.
  • Steiner, R. (1910): An Outline of Esoteric Science. Translated by Creeger, C. New York 1997, GA13.
  • Targ, R., Puthoff, H. (1974): Information transmission under conditions of sensory shielding. Nature 251, pp. 602–607.
  • Wheatstone, C. (1833): On the Figures obtained by strewing Sand on Vibrating Surfaces, commonly called Acoustic Figures. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 123, pp. 593–633.