This chapter argues that the concern Schelling shares with Goethe is, on the one hand, to present a concept of nature and life that takes better scientific account of the phenomena of dynamics, ‘self-creation’ and purposefulness. On the other hand, this ontological question is also linked to the project of establishing an appropriate methodology that pays attention to the phenomena themselves and their holistic significance for the whole of nature and the environment. Schelling and Goethe are united by a common front against a transcendental philosophy of nature oriented towards Newton, which they sought to correct both methodologically and ontologically with regard to the concepts of nature and life. Their approaches can therefore be seen as precursors of a process-philosophical understanding of reality, which is increasingly being taken into account today in environmental ethics in view of the challenges of the present.