Holistic Science Courses

Six experiential courses exploring nature, perception and consciousness through holistic and Goethean approaches to science

Duration

Oct '26 - June '27

Cost

£165 per course

Format

In-person

Location

Emerson College

Start date

October 2026

Accreditation

Six experiential weekend courses

Course overview

Exploring Nature, Consciousness and New Ways of Understanding the World

The Holistic Science Courses at Emerson College offer opportunities to explore nature, perception, consciousness and human experience through observation, dialogue and direct experience.

Drawing on the work of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Rudolf Steiner and contemporary practitioners, these workshops invite participants to engage with questions that sit at the meeting point of science, philosophy, art and human development.

Through subjects including geometry, visual perception, plant studies, evolution and consciousness, participants are encouraged to develop new ways of observing, thinking and relating to the world around them.

Whether you are an educator, artist, therapist, scientist, student of anthroposophy or simply curious about new ways of understanding the world, these workshops provide accessible entry points into the rich tradition of holistic science.

These courses also offer a flavour of themes explored in greater depth through the MA Transformative Learning programme offered by Ruskin Mill Centre for Practice.

Who the short courses are for

These short courses are ideal for:

Educators, facilitators, artists, scientists and researchers
MA applicants wishing to experience elements of the forthcoming programme
Anyone seeking experiential, interdisciplinary approaches to science
Individuals interested in Goethean science, projective geometry, music theory, plant studies, colour theory or evolutionary consciousness
People exploring transformative learning and personal development

Participants are welcome to join one, several, or all six workshops.

What you'll learn

Depending on the workshop(s) selected, participants will explore:

Goethean approaches to observation and perception
Projective geometry and new ways of understanding space and form
Visual experience and the science of seeing
Plant metamorphosis and the living processes of nature
The evolution of consciousness and the role of language in shaping human experience
Relationships between science, art, philosophy and human development
Practical approaches to observation, contemplation and exact sensorial imagination
Holistic perspectives on nature, meaning and human participation in the world

Each workshop combines experiential learning, reflective enquiry and practical exploration, inviting participants to engage directly with the phenomena being studied.

Short course structure

You are welcome to book one, several or all six workshops.

Each course costs £165

Workshop 1: Crossing the Threshold of Sensible Space

Dates: 3 - 4 October 2026

Facilitator: Russell Arnold

Explore Geometry Beyond Ordinary Space

How can geometry help us think differently about space, form and perception? This workshop offers a practical introduction to projective geometry through hands-on geometric constructions. Participants will explore how mathematical forms can become a pathway to new ways of thinking and perceiving, revealing unexpected relationships between geometry, consciousness and the natural world.

In this course we will follow a sequence of geometric constructions across the threshold of sensible space into a super sensible realm. The Cassini curve metamorphosis gives a tangible demonstration of what it means to “go outside of space”. For this reason, it was brought up on several occasions by Rudolf Steiner, both as an object of meditation and the training of thought, and as a practical pathway to a spiritual understanding of the human body and the cosmos. The aim of this course is to experience the fundamental geometric phenomena that will lead us through this threshold to “imaginary points”. In order to do this, we will do compass and straight edge constructions. We will take our start from turning a finite figure inside out, and then see what happens to this process of inversion when the distinction between inside and outside falls out of space.

Workshop 2: An Optics of Visual Experience

Dates: 14 -15 November 2026

Facilitators: Sascha Grusche and Troy Vine

Seeing the World Differently

How do we experience the world through sight? This workshop explores visual perception from a Goethean perspective, inviting participants to investigate the relationship between observer, image and object. Through practical observation and discussion, participants will gain fresh insights into how seeing shapes our understanding of reality.

Optics started out as the science of sight, but transformed into the science of light. As a result, the human observer has been replaced by a camera, images are reduced to points of light, the viewer’s actions are translated into the behaviour of light, and the function of the eye is often not taken into consideration. This reductive approach reduces human experience to a minimum. An holistic approach reverses this tendency. Inspired by the groundbreaking work of Goethean physicist Georg Maier, we can gain an understanding of imaging processes by systematically investigating the relations between us, the objects we can touch, the images we can see - relations we can grasp in thought. This image-based approach allows us to gain an experiential understanding of visual experience, allowing us to relate abstract ray models to concrete phenomena.

Workshop 3: Projective Geometry and the Quest for Perfect Partnerships

Dates: 27 - 28 February 2027

Facilitators: Charlie Gunn and Troy Vine

Discover Hidden Relationships in Form and Space

This workshop offers a practical and creative introduction to three-dimensional projective geometry. Through model-making and hands-on exploration, participants will investigate the remarkable relationships between geometric forms and discover new ways of understanding space, symmetry and imagination.

Beginning with a hands-on exploration of the remarkable symmetry between two Platonic solids, the cube and octahedron, this course offers an introduction to three-dimensional projective geometry. We will discover that every form has a “perfect partner”, its dual form, in which points and planes are interchanged. This discovery allows us to extend our ordinary concept of space, as consisting of points, to one in which planes play an equally fundamental role. The construction of three-dimensional models will help bring hand and head into harmony and develop a capacity for what Goethe called “exact sensorial imagination”.

Workshop 4: The Evolution of Animals and the Evolution of Consciousness

Dates: 20 - 21 March 2027

Facilitators: Judyth Sassoon and Troy Vine

Exploring Consciousness, Language and Nature

How have our ways of understanding the world evolved? This workshop brings together animal evolution, literature and philosophy to explore the development of human consciousness. Participants will investigate how language, metaphor and narrative shape our relationship with nature and our place within it.

Bringing together a study of animal evolution and comparative literature, this course offers an experiential introduction to the evolution of consciousness. Drawing on Owen Barfield’s pioneering study of meaning, we will explore how metaphors and narratives shape how we see the world and ourselves. We will examine how evolutionary narratives in science have shaped our understanding of the past and the future, and explore the potential for Barfield’s evolutionary narrative to transform how we see the world and our place in it, opening up the possibility for shaping our evolutionary trajectory through active participation with nature. This course would be of interest to anyone interested in the science of nature and the role of language in shaping how we see the world and ourselves within it.

Workshop 5: New Eyes for Plants

Dates: 24 - 25 April 2027

Facilitator: Katherine Buchanan

Learning Directly from Nature

Plants have much to teach us about growth, transformation and the living world. Through careful observation and artistic exploration, this workshop invites participants to develop new ways of seeing and understanding plants, deepening both scientific enquiry and personal connection with nature.

In this course we will follow Margaret Colquhoun’s approach - drawing on the work of J. S. Goethe and Jochen Bockemühl in her way of “Beholding the Heart of Nature”. The plants will be our teachers through close careful observation as we explore their living nature and metamorphosis and learn to think in new ways. Participants will experience how artistic and scientific approaches, living within us all, can combine towards a perception of “Nature’s Open Secrets”.

Workshop 6: Reading the Book of Nature

Dates: 19 - 20 June 2027

Facilitator: Jonathan Code

Finding Meaning in the Natural World

What can nature reveal when we learn to observe it more deeply? Combining observation, creative writing, contemplation and dialogue, this workshop explores Goethe’s idea that nature can be approached not only as an object of study but also as a source of meaning and understanding.

Presented with the complexity of the natural world and all its wonders, we are faced with the question; has this intricacy arisen by chance? Is it merely the result of random events and hard -fought feats of survival? Perhaps, through careful attending, we can realise that the natural world is more akin to a book that invites our reading, and that it reveals meaning just as much as it does mystery. Historically the notion that we could ‘read in the book of nature’ had greater currency than it does today, evident in - for instance - the work of J.W. Goethe and his contemporaries. Goethe proposed that a ‘delicate empiricism’ and ‘exact sensorial imagination’ could enable a reading of Nature's open secrets. This course explores the notion of ‘reading in the book of nature’ through exercises in observation, creative writing, contemplative enquiry, and dialogue.