On similarities and differences between morphological concepts of linnaeus and goethe

Analysis of C. Linnaeus' and J.W. Goethe's morphological ideas shows that they both deal with structure of object under study however Linnaeus understood it perceptive structure while Goethe as its proper structure. Perceptive structure is an image (Gestalt) formed in observer's mind and recognized by the discriminating traits. The proper object structure is composed of its morphological elements, that can be distinguished only by a special study of their transformations. Notion of the plants modular construction originated within Goethe's ideas about plant morphology. We cannot expect any remarkable advances in modular theory as well in the descriptive and constructive morphology until conceptual differences between these two approaches will be understood.