Re-thinking, Re-imagining and Re-creating Our Relation to Nature

What would the world look like if we as human beings were able to think like a plant grows? Imagine gaining such flexibility of thought that our ideas were no longer rigid, static and object-like, but grew, transformed, and when necessary, died away. And as with plant form, what if our thoughts revealed the living qualities of the world we inhabit? What a revolution! This is the revolution that the poet and scientist Goethe began with his approach to doing science. It is a way of wakefully entering into the living forces of the world and learning to think and act in harmony with them. This revolution can provide a strong infusion of living thought into our culture.

Out of this concern, we are offering a new practice-based training in a Goethean approach to science. The course will be held in the springtime, allowing the activities to grow out of the genius of place and time: the rapidly and richly unfolding plant life in spring in the Northeast will be a natural focus for our work. The Institute is located in a biodynamically farmed valley in upstate New York with forests, meadows, wetlands, creeks, ponds and many transitional habitats within walking distance.

Core Seminar with Craig Holdrege -- Doing Goethean Science:

This seminar brings an immersion in the plant world, focusing on the theme "The Dynamic Plant: Morphology, Metamorphosis and Ecology." It leads into living thinking and introduces the practice and methodology of Goethean science through hands-on observation and self-reflective thought. There will also be supplemental readings, and the seminar will provide the basis for the individual project.

Individual Project: A key element of learning is individual practice. Each student will choose an area of study (for example, a plant species or family, a species comparison, a habitat study, and so on) in which he or she independently applies the Goethean approach. This project will extend over the length of the course and each student will give a project presentation at the end of the course.

Additional Classes:

• A seminar in flexible thinking through projective geometry
• A seminar on the visual world and the phenomena of light and color
• Drawing and/or painting classes to develop a habit of careful and sensitive observation
• Nature field trips
• Talks and seminars by guest teachers illustrating the depth and breadth of the Goethean approach

The two-and-a-half-month course is full-time; classes are held five days per week. Mornings are devoted to seminars and the afternoons to project work, drawing/painting classes, habitat observations, and field trips. The course will be carried by Institute staff, Craig Holdrege and Henrike Holdrege, and guest teachers.

Who is the course for? For people who are deeply interested in nature and motivated to develop a new scientific practice. For example: science teachers, farmers and undergraduate or graduate students looking to instill new life into their discipline and who have the keen desire to learn a rigorous holistic methodology will profit from this course. In the past, both college and graduate students have received credits for attending our education programs, so you should inquire about the possibility of receiving credits for this course.

The course will be carried out with an enrollment of seven or more students; the maximum number of participants is fifteen. We presently envision offering the course every other year.