颜色理论之争的背后——从“原型”视角看歌德的自然哲学

Beyond the Dispute on Theory of Colours: A Study on Goethe's Natural Philosophy from a Perspective of Archetype

歌德的颜色学实际上是关于颜色的"形态学",它与亚里士多德以降的传统颜色理论是高度一致的。作为歌德自然哲学的核心概念,"原型"成为指导其科学研究的重要原则,并且是颜色理论之争的关键所在。而争论的背后,实质上是两种自然观的深刻分歧。

Goethe's criticism of Newtonian theory of colours was one of the unusual episodes in the history of science. Comparing with the comments of Newton's contemporary critics such as Robert Hooke and Christian Huygens, Goethe's criticism was based on a more different tradition of natural philosophy. But what is the tradition? What is Goethe's philosophy of nature? How should we consider Goethe's criticism today? These questions not only provide us with a new perspective to interpret Newtonian theory of colours, but also help us to reconsider the metaphysical foundations of modern science. With respect to these questions, the thesis aims to disclose that Goethe's archetype functions as the core idea and the leading principle in his nature studies, which also marks the critical point in his debate with Newtonian theory of colours.