Jeff asked:

A while ago, I came across a reference to Goethe's theory of colour. What exactly is the theory? and
is it true?

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Goethe's theory is a phenomenaltheory of colour, as opposed to Newton's wavicular theory, which is
based on the retractability of light into a spectrum. Phenomenal in this context means, "as it appears".
Goethe was, among other accomplishments, a competent artist; accordingly his interest in colour is
an artist's. Consequently no-one other than artists has ever been convinced by his theory, mainly
because it relies on subjective validation. For example, he struggled manfully to assess the changes
in colour appearance when shadows are involved; but whereas in the physical theory this is easy
(simple subtraction), in the phenomenal theory you are reduced to observation and guesswork,
because shadows obviously change hue from minute to minute depending on the direction and
strength of the light. So whether it is "true", depends on who you are. If an artist, you may well feel
that his theory (which is really more a philosophy of colour, certainly not a science) is "true". But if
you're interested in colour as light,forget it.

Jurgen Lawrenz

Sydney