Metamorphosis: Evolution in Action

Metamorphosis is the result of a lifetime of biological research seeking to penetrate through the phenomena to the formative principles that have shaped them. Following Goethe’s participatory method, and drawing on his observations on a number of continents, Andreas Suchantke shows how the development and evolution of plants and animals can be understood in terms of metamorphosis. Through his eyes, we come to see evolution as a dynamic process that unfolds on a far more fundamental level than Darwin’s natural selection. In the age of stem-cell research, Suchantke’s insights into the formation of organisms as integrated wholes offer a much-needed complement to the findings of conventional genetics and microbiology.

Beautifully illustrated by the author’s drawings and color photographs. This masterly work offers a rich, dynamic and deeply meaningful understanding of organic life.

Andreas Suchantke was born in Basel, Switzerland, in 1933. He was trained in zoology and botany at the universities of Munich and Basel and taught natural sciences for nineteen years in the Waldorf school in Zurich. He has worked extensively in Waldorf teacher training programs around the world. Andreas Suchantke describes himself as a "freelance ecologist," and works especially in Israel in cooperation with the Society for the Protection of Nature.

Norman Skillen was born in Belfast in 1950, and grew up in the nearby town of Holywood. He has a degree in ecology, but has mostly been involved in the arts, first in Waldorf teacher training in Germany, and then as a drama teacher at Constantia Waldorf School in Cape Town. He is also something of a singer, actor, storyteller and has worked extensively as a translator. Inspiration comes from nature, and from exploring its relation to imagination. Jazz will also hit the spot. Contributing author to the Life Righting Collective’s anthology This Is How It Is: True Stories from South Africa.