This dissertation deals with the alchemical activities of the English natural philosopher Robert Boyle . ;The study begins by setting down a consistent and defensible terminology for discussing a period during which time the words alchemy and chemistry were synonymous. A review of the three centuries of secondary literature on Boyle then reveals how his image has been successively reformed and tailored to fit prevailing apologetic or historiographic programmes, almost always with the effect of modernizing him and his interests and (...) further burying his already obscure alchemical interests. A radically new interpretation of the Sceptical Chymist is then presented, developed by a newly rigorous reading of the work--together with its 1680 appendix--in terms of its context and sources, and with a much more nuanced appreciation of the competing schools of seventeenth century "chymistry." The work is thus revealed as not critical of the aims or methods of traditional alchemical masters, or adepti, but rather of the "unphilosophical" practice of Paracelsian pharmacists and the systematizing of textbook writers. Boyle's own positive view of transmutational alchemy is then unambiguously presented by a consideration of his "lost" Dialogue on the Transmutation and Melioration of Metals now reconstructed from scattered surviving fragments and presented here in full for the first time. The text shows Boyle's unflinching belief in the reality of the Philosophers' Stone and its powers, and his dissatisfaction with those who denied it. Different kinds of transmutation within traditional alchemy are described, alongside evidence for Boyle's maintenance of these traditional divisions. Boyle's own witness of transmutation is then recounted along with his attempts to contact adepti, thus involving him in a diverse array of social and scientific networks across Europe. ;Boyle's alchemical programme is next detailed, including his reading and writing of alchemical texts, his adoption of alchemical means of communication , and his experimental attempts to prepare alchemical arcana. In this last regard, his forty-year search for the Philosophical Mercury and its correct manipulation is chronicled. Finally, Boyle's motivations are explored. Boyle's interest in chrysoppoeia was not fueled primarily by the promise of medicines, gold, or new natural philosophical knowledge devolving from the Stone, but rather by his belief that the Stone could function as a medium for facilitating communication with angels and other spirits. As such, it could potentially manifest spirit activity and thus act as a powerful weapon against atheism. ;This study reveals Boyle as much less of a modern and revolutionary than presentist, positivist, heroic, or even the new sociological schools would have him. Rather, he is here resituated in a complex web of contemporary questions and currents of thought, and involved in the debate of an important question of the day. Alchemy was a chief concern of Robert Boyle and as such it must be fully integrated into our portrayal of him, and by extension, of his time--a critical period in the development of modern science as a whole, and of early modern chemistry in particular. The spiritual functions with which Boyle eventually endowed alchemy promoted it to a central position in his thought as a whole, functioning then as a middle term mediating between his two chief missions--the advancement of natural philosophy and the defense and propagation of Christianity. (shrink)

This study presents a substantial and often radical reinterpretation of some of the central themes of Locke's thought. Professor Alexander concentrates on the Essay Concerning Human Understanding and aims to restore that to its proper historical context. In Part I he gives a clear exposition of some of the scientific theories of Robert Boyle, which, he argues, heavily influenced Locke in employing similar concepts and terminology. Against this background, he goes on in Part II to provide an account of Locke's (...) views on the external world and our knowledge of it. He shows those views to be more consistent and plausible than is generally allowed, demonstrating how they make sense and enable scientific explanations of nature. In examining the views of Locke and Boyle together, the book throws light both on the development of philosophy and the beginnings of modern science, and in particular it makes a considerable and original contribution to our understanding of Locke's philosophy. (shrink)

Summary Robert Boyle did not subordinate chemistry to mechanical philosophy. He was in fact reluctant to explain chemical phenomena by having recourse to the mechanical properties of particles. For him chemistry provided a primary way of penetrating into nature. In his chemical works he employed corpuscles endowed with chemical properties as his explanans. Boyle's chemistry was corpuscular, rather than mechanical. As Boyle's views of seminal principles show, his corpuscular philosophy cannot be described as a purely mechanical theory of matter. Boyle's (...) classification of corpuscles allowed him to connect his corpuscular views of matter with chemistry. Boyle did not rule out the possibility of a classification of chemical substances based on their properties: his aim was to reform the received classification. (shrink)

This book presents the first integrated treatment of the philosophy of Robert Boyle, one of the leading English natural philosophers of the Scientific Revolution.

In a publication of 1831 later seen as a milestone in the development of chemistry, Justus Liebig announced a new apparatus for the analysis of organic compounds and provided analytical results for fifteen substances. In this paper we used the detailed descriptions published by Liebig in 1837 to reconstruct his apparatus and methods for hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen analysis. Our replications of his analyses of racemic acid, cinchonine, narcotine, and urea reveal that his two pieces of apparatus give excellent results (...) for carbon and hydrogen content, but erratic results for nitrogen. The results corroborate the assessments of Liebig and his contemporaries, and show that the analytical method for carbon and hydrogen analysis was remarkably accurate. We offer this case, with its convincing replicability, not only to clarify the nature of Liebig's innovations, but also as a new model for understanding broader contested issues in the philosophy and sociology of science. Our analysis suggests that the great shift in science from gentlemanly avocation to professional vocation was tightly linked to laboratory practice, and not just to social networks and context. It also provides the basis for a critique of H. M. Collins's theory of the 'experimenters' regress'. (shrink)