“Goethe’s emphasis on color experience reflected his confidence that true understanding of
color can only occur once we possess the requisite capacities. In this way, Goethe’s science
was deeply concerned with education as formation. We learn to see colors; indeed, we learn
to see nearly everything. As Goethe wrote: ‘Every object, well contemplated, opens a new
organ in us.’ In this sense, education in concerned with the formation of the human being.
“Löbe, Rang, and Vine invite us on a journey into a world of color experience. In joining
them, we undertake the important project of shaping new capacities by which we can
know our world more fully.” —Arthur Zajonc (from the foreword)
Color is everywhere. From blue skies to red sunsets, from the first flowers in spring to the
blazing leaves of autumn. But what is the nature of color?
Scientific books present a variety of mechanical explanations but this approach leaves color
as a whole unexplained. In the nineteenth century, the German poet and scientist Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe investigated a wide range of color phenomena and discovered the
underlying principles that govern color itself.
This lavishly illustrated book brings Goethe’s pioneering research up to date. Through
descriptions of simple observations and ingenious experiments, the reader will discover
a series of color phenomena that includes afterimages, colored shadows, color mixing,
and prismatic and polarization colors.
Seeing Colour is a thought-provoking read for color enthusiasts and experts alike,
providing an accessible route to a new way of seeing color.
Illustrated in color.
C O N T E N T S:
Foreword by Arthur Zajonc
Introduction
1. Sight and Image
2. Colors Arising from the Eye
3. Colors Arising from Colorless Media
4. Colors Arising from Colored Media
5. The Complementarity of Color Experiments
6. Sight and Colored Light
7. The Order of Colors
Conclusion
“The Experiment as Mediator between Object and Subject” by Goethe
“A Bibliographical Essay on Goethean Approaches to Color Science”
Acknowledgements
Picture Credits
Endnotes
Index
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