Analogical thinking, relations between microcosm and macrocosm,
polarity and intensification, inspiration, magical, alchemistic,
and magnetic/sympathetic concepts: key terms like these indicate
the importance of the traditions of pansophist and holistic
interpretation of the world in Goethe's literary and scientific
works. Of equal significance is his engagement with 'universal
wisdom' (Weltweisheit), as embodied in the philosophical and
scientific tendencies of the age he lived in. The Geneva conference
of the Swiss Goethe Society documented here casts light on
Goethe's position in the rivalries tensions between old and new
in his day.
