The Chemical Philosophy: Paracelsian Science and Medicine in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Swiss-born physician and alchemist Paracelsus (1493-1541) and his followers claimed to have found the key to a truly Christian interpretation of nature in chemistry. Building upon a mixture of ancient, medieval, and Renaissance sources, they believed that both macrocosmic and microcosmic events would be revealed through the personal observations of the chemist and the Divine Grace of the Lord. Until the publication of this book, however, the breadth and vicissitudes of the Paracelsian approach to nature and medicine had been little studied. The present work rectified the situation, providing a rich record of the major interests of the Paracelsian and other chemical philosophers and the conflicts they engaged in with their contemporaries. Topics include chemistry and nature in the Renaissance, the chemical philosophy, the Paracelsian debates, the synthesis of Robert Fludd, the Helmontian restatement of the chemical philosophy, the chemical philosophy in transition, and more. Enhanced with 36 halftone and line illustrations, this carefully researched study will be welcomed by students of the history of science, chemistry, medicine, and other disciplines. Revised republication in one volume of The Chemical Philosophy: Paracelsian Science and Medicine in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (2 vols.), published by Science History Publications, a division of Neale Watson Academic Publications, New York, 1977. New Preface. Postscript. Bibliography. Index. Errata List. 36 halftone and line illustrations.