In 1981 Professor L.W.J. Holleman privately circulated the preliminary results of experiments in which the element potassium, in a series of closed cultures of algae, was observed first to disappear, then later to reappear. Inspired by the Agriculture Lecture of Rudolf Steiner, he believed that a Goethean scientific approach was required.
Rudolf Steiner wrote and lectured on many scientific themes which gave indications for the further development of Goethe’s scientific methods and worldview. He encouraged mathematicians such as George Adams (Kaufmann) to develop ‘synthetic’, projective geometry to produce a Goethean mathematical physics. Nick Thomas further developed this work, but sadly died shortly after informing the Holleman Study Group that he was working on a new understanding of nuclear transmutation.
This blog is a personal sandpit for me to play in – a place for me to explore some of these ideas – and to develop the course of my book, in which I intend to share my findings.
The particular ideas which I wish to explore are:
- Goethe’s scientific world view, which Steiner further developed;
- Steiner’s fifth agriculture lecture, in which he spoke of the biological transmutation of chemical elements (alchemy);
- Nick Thomas used the projective geometry indications of Steiner – as developed by George Adams and others – to propose a mathematical framework for a linked space and counterspace world view. This may enable a new Goethean mathematical physics to be developed – George Adams’ first English language publication on the subject (Space and the Light of the Creation: A New Essay in Cosmic Theory, 1933) was originally titled Synthetic Geometry, Goethe’s Theory of Metamorphosis and Mathematical Physics.
- It was based on a person centred linking of the realms of physical matter and ideal forms – something that quantum physics and relativity have failed to do (they are only good at making impersonal predictions about the behaviour of material objects);
- Of importance is Thomas’s linkage of the classical, material four elements (whose behaviour is constrained by Euclidean space) with the archetypal, ideal forms of Goethe, whose behaviour was indicated by Steiner to be determined by his four ethers (constrained by the dual opposite of Euclidean space, known by Alfred North Whitehead as anti-space, otherwise known as counterspace).
I was asked to write this book by the Professor Dr. L.W.J. Holleman Study Group – a small group of friends whose purpose was to promote Holleman’s research interests in such phenomena and ideas. The original title proposed was Rethinking the Nature of Substance. For further information on our small group and our previous work, see http://www.holleman.ch
This blog is entirely my own – I take full personal responsibility for anything that I may write – the ideas expressed here are not necessarily those of the Holleman Study Group. Also, I do not claim to have been the originator of most of the concepts that are shared here – that credit goes to the many others who have gone before me. What I have done is to bring together a wide variety of concepts from many different disciplines in the hopes of developing and testing the philosophical and scientific ideas of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Rudolf Steiner. I hope to demonstrate that their ideas compliment those of mainstream academic science and form a coherent worldview. Along the way some of Rudolf Steiner’s ideas may be left behind. However, I would not be writing this book if I did not feel that his core philosophical concepts were likely to be correct.
The ideas to be explored here are often difficult to understand, for they transcend our everyday experiences. If they were easy there would be no need for me to be writing this!
[Since I wrote the material below my attitude towards this work has changed. Since then I have discovered what was missing – my shared humanity. I have given my reasons for writing it, not a reason why others might want to read it!]
The atom as sub-sensible entity
The English word sensible has a double meaning;
- That which we can experience using our physical senses;
- And that which we can understand using our common sense.
A complete scientific world view requires exploring non-material processes and phenomena. These transcend our everyday experiences. Broadly speaking these include;
- Super-sensible entities – such as ideas – which can only be ‘seen’ with the mind;
- Sub-sensible entities – such as electricity, magnetism and even atoms – which only indirectly make their presence known through their interactions with physical matter.
The sub-natural realm is, very broadly speaking, for mainstream, academic science, the concern of quantum physics – and it is a very strange realm indeed! It transcends common sense. Steiner agreed that such realms are indeed very strange for us. We are only normally consciously aware of the physical realm. Entities inhabiting these other realms – including the atom – obey entirely different rules to those of our physical realm. The many paradoxes of quantum physics demonstrate the challenges of developing a meaningful understanding very well indeed.
Perhaps Rudolf Steiner’s spiritual scientific world view may enable an understanding of these alien realms. Quantum physics is difficult to comprehend, but its mathematical formulations are fundamental to the workings of every microchip in just about every electronic gadget used today. Nick Thomas’ mathematical descriptions of atomic behaviour are no less challenging to the non-mathematician than those of Albert Einstein or Erwin Schrödinger. But it is my hope in this blog to show how Thomas, basing his work on the ideas of Steiner, may have enabled a deeper understanding of our relationship with the processes of nature – and in particular – the nature of substance itself.
By way of navigating through this website:
- The latest draft chapters or sub-chapters are presented as web-pages and may be accessed via the Table of Contents page, and via the navigation links to previous and next pages;
- And blog posts, where I have recorded my research notes, written and archived old draft chapters and explore my ideas. These are ordered by my most recent posts first, categorised by book and chapter, tagged by key subjects, or accessed via the search facility.
This is very much a work in progress – please be patient – however, (positive) feedback is always welcome.
Rethinking the Nature of Substance 
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