Alchemy can't be science--common sense tells us as much. But
perhaps common sense is not the best measure of what science is, or
was. In this book, Bruce Moran looks past contemporary assumptions
and prejudices to determine what alchemists were actually doing in
the context of early modern science. Examining the ways alchemy and
chemistry were studied and practiced between 1400 and 1700, he
shows how these approaches influenced their respective
practitioners' ideas about nature and shaped their inquiries into
the workings of the natural world. His work sets up a dialogue
between what historians have usually presented as separate spheres;
here we see how alchemists and early chemists exchanged ideas and
methods and in fact shared a territory between their two
disciplines.
"Distilling Knowledge" suggests that scientific revolution may
wear a different appearance in different cultural contexts. The
metaphor of the Scientific Revolution, Moran argues, can be
expanded to make sense of alchemy and other so-called
pseudo-sciences--by including a new framework in which "process can
count as an object, in which making leads to learning, and in which
the messiness of conflict leads to discernment." Seen on its own
terms, alchemy can stand within the bounds of demonstrative
science.
General
| Imprint: |
Harvard University Press
|
| Country of origin: |
United States |
| Series: |
New Histories of Science, Technology, and Medicine |
| Release date: |
September 2006 |
| First published: |
September 2006 |
| Authors: |
Bruce T. Moran
|
| Dimensions: |
210 x 140 x 15mm (L x W x T) |
| Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
| Pages: |
224 |
| Edition: |
New Ed |
| ISBN-13: |
978-0-674-02249-2 |
| Categories: |
Books >
Science & Mathematics >
Science: general issues >
History of science
Promotions
|
| LSN: |
0-674-02249-1 |
| Barcode: |
9780674022492 |
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