Peter Henri Bortoft (1938 – 29 December 2012) was a British independent researcher and teacher, lecturer and writer on physics and the

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. The central questions of this study concern what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ultim ...

. He is best known for his work ''The Wholeness of Nature'', considered a relevant and original recent interpretation of Goethean science. His book ''Taking Appearance Seriously: The Dynamic Way of Seeing in Goethe and European Thought'' was published in 2012. Bortoft completed his studies at the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hull ...

, and then performed postgraduate research on the foundations of

quantum physics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, qua ...

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public university, public research university, located in Bloomsbury, London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the federal Universit ...

, where theoretical physicist David Bohm introduced him to the problem of wholeness in quantum theory. Subsequently, Bortoft worked with

John G. Bennett John Godolphin Bennett (8 June 1897 – 13 December 1974) was a British academic and author. He is best known for his books on psychology and spirituality, particularly on the teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff. Bennett met Gurdjieff in Istanbul in ...

on Bennett's ''Systematics'' (also known as Multi-Term Systems), which was Bennett's methodology for assisting the systematic and progressive understanding of systems, complexity, and wholeness, and on efforts with Bennett and with Kenneth W. Pledge to develop a formal language that was rigorously descriptive of scientific activity. Those efforts were published in ''Systematics: The Journal of the Institute for the Comparative Study of History, Philosophy and the Sciences'', listed below. Bortoft taught physics and philosophy of science at

Schumacher College Schumacher College is a college near Totnes, Devon, England which offers ecology-centred degree programmes, short courses and horticultural programmes. The College is internationally renowned for its experiential approach to learning, encouragin ...

in the framework of the program in ''Holistic Science''. He held numerous lectures and seminars in Great Britain and the United States on the scientific work of

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...

and on the development of modern science. Bortoft died on 29 December 2012 at his home in

Matlaske Matlaske is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is North-north-west of Norwich, south-west of Cromer and north-north-east of London. The nearest railway station is at Sheringham for the Bittern Line whi ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, aged 74.

Works

*Henri Bortoft ''Taking Appearance Seriously: The Dynamic Way of Seeing in Goethe and European Thought'', Floris Books, 2012, . *''The Wholeness of Nature: Goethe's way toward a science of conscious participation in nature'', Lindisfarne Press, 1996, . *''Goethe's Scientific Consciousness'', Octagon press, 1986, . Note that ''Goethe's Scientific Consciousness'' is reused as part II of the book ''The Wholeness of Nature'' *''"Counterfeit and Authentic Wholes"'', In D. Seamon and R. Mugerauer, eds.: ''Dwelling, Place and Environment: Toward a Phenomenology of Person and World'', pp. 281–302, Columbia University Press, 1985. *''The Whole: Counterfeit and Authentic'', Systematics, 9 (2) (September, 1971), pp. 43–73. *''Review Discussion: A Systematic Critique of the Management of Science'', Systematics, 7 (4) (March, 1971), pp. 347–351. *''The Ambiguity of ‘One’ and ‘Two’ in Young’s Experiment'', Systematics, 8 (3) (December, 1970), available online at http://www.toutley.demon.co.uk/HB.htm. *''Language, Will, and the Fact'', Systematics, 6 (3) (December, 1968). *''“The Resolution by a Rigorous Descriptive Method of Some Dilemmas in Physical Science – Part 1”'', Systematics, 4 (2) (September, 1966). This article reflects Bortoft’s development of the idea of a rigorous descriptive method in the earlier article below and restates the Descriptive Model more concisely and elegantly, with an emphasis on the collective, sociological will of the scientific community. *with

J. G. Bennett John Godolphin Bennett (8 June 1897 – 13 December 1974) was a British academic and author. He is best known for his books on psychology and spirituality, particularly on the teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff. Bennett met Gurdjieff in Istanbul in ...

and K. W. Pledge
''Towards an Objectively Complete Language: An essay in objective description as applied to scientific procedure''
Systematics, 3 (3) (December, 1965).

References

External links

Henri Borthoft
at

*Henri Bortoft:
The transformation of consciousness
'
Goethian science
by H. Bortoft
Dialogue on leadership
interview with Henri Bortoft by Claus Otto Scharmer, 1999
Review of Henri Bortoft's ''Taking Appearance Seriously''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bortoft, Henri 20th-century British physicists 21st-century British physicists Alumni of the University of Hull Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London Philosophers of science 1938 births 2012 deaths People associated with The Institute for Cultural Research