Customer Reviews
The best non-fiction book I've read - By: Frank Bierbrauer, 18 Jan 2007 
No praise is adequate for this book with its strong unsentimental philosophical approach tempered with a relaxed style & exceptionally clear explanations of the material. It opens up a completely new way of viewing & doing science, one not easily acceptable to a rigid interpretaion as it stands today. Very broadin its scope discussing very deeply the idea of world view, it is an essential read for any scientist even applied mathematicians such as myself. Unlike other booksin the same vein e.g. mystical etc,in whose domain it does not belong, there are no fantastical explanations with no grounding but rather well researched argumentsin favour of an almost Socratic perspective, refering here to Socrates's character & life rather than Plato's use of himin his arguments. Recommended for all open minded readers & those who would like to have theirs opened.
Comprehensive Introduction to Holistic Science - By: Iddo Oberski, 10 Jul 2003 An absolutely fascinating read, at a level suitable for both professional scientists & academics but easily accessible to the layperson as well. This is essential reading for anyone with an interestin holism, holistic science & the limits of science. Bortoft provides an in-depth & comprehensive analysis of Johan Wolfgang von Goethe’s approach to science, clearly showing the contemporary relevance of his entirely different way of coming to an understanding of the natural world. He underpins this analysis by his own philosophical research on the relationship between the whole & its parts.
In our daily thinking we tend to be stuckin what Bortoft calls analytic consciousness, through which we try to understand the phenomenain our world by analysing them into parts & then building them up again from those parts. In this way, the whole becomes an entity, which stands alone, albeit constituted from its parts. Goethe’s way of science, however, draws on a very different conception of the whole, as being intimately entwined with its parts,in such a way that,in a sense, the whole comes into being through the parts, while at the same time the parts come into being through the whole. We can only really understand this by experiencing it & drawing on our intuitive mode of consciousness.
Bortoft shows how Goethe dwelledin the phenomena he studied to such degree that he was able to understand these phenomena, without needing to explain them. Moreover, Bortoft does an excellent job at showing how this mode of science is objectivein the exact same way as conventional science is objective,in that it is verifiable by others, but dependant on a shared way of seeing the world.
Having read many parts of the book over again, I amin awe of the wholeness of this work,in the Goethean sense, so that each section forms both a part of the whole, but at the same time contains the entire work within itself. Once read as a whole, each section brings to life again the entire work, revealing each time new aspects & helping me to think afresh, with thought-provoking ideas. Strikingin all this is how Bortoft has managed to bring the entire subject to life by showing so clearly how Goethe's science comes into being.
The relevance & importance of this work will no doubt increase over the years.
A primer for a holistic consciousness - By: , 07 Jun 1999 'The Wholeness of Nature' is a work of the most patient exposition & extraordinary luminousity. Bortoft brings us the essence of Goethe's way of science, which has been lost on many previous commentators. But this book is much, much more than just a historical essay: it is a primer for a holistic consciousness, built on a profound insight into the nature of human perception. It sheds fresh light on some of our most pressing preocupations,in a way that is both erudite & highly accessible. 'The Wholeness of Nature' revitalised my intellectual & imaginative life, causing me to see things I had previously taken for grantedin a wholly new way. This is one of very few books I feel really privileged to have come across. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
