Distilling Knowledge: Alchemy, Chemistry, and the Scientific Revolution (New Histories of Science, Technology, and Medicine Book 10) by Bruce T. Moran (PDF)

Description

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.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Brilliant! I have read dozens of books on alchemy’s history but Distilling Knowledge is by far the best. Moran has given the world a true gift. His book goes beyond delivering just history, he gives us the inside story of how the Scientific Revolution unfolded with alchemy being a key ingredient to this profound transition. This is a very human story that reveals how differently early scientists conceived and imagined their world, one that was far more visionary, colorful and soulful than our own. His writing is clear and his research, comprehensive. We learn about different types of alchemy, the interchangeability of alchemy and chemistry (at times), the contest between court and university alchemists, the arguments for and against alchemy, the contradictions of some who were for and against alchemy and perhaps most importantly, why and how alchemy was sacrificed so that chemistry could find its place in University medical school curricula. This is a must read for anyone interested in a full understanding of alchemy, its place in the history of science, its profound contribution and the role it continues to play in contemporary science. The recipe Solve et Coagula is no less important today than it was in the Middle Ages. Distilling Knowledge is a masterpiece! (Don’t bother highlighting lines – the entire book bears special attention!) […]

⭐Just getting into this book, but finding it informative and written in a manner that holds my interest, not ‘dry’ as some resource books often are.

⭐Disclaimer: the author was one of my college professors, and I took three of his classes (history of science, history of early modern Europe–that one with my husband, one of the two university classes we took together–and an independent study). He’s a great lecturer with a dry sense of humor, but you will never take more difficult exams (for me, outside of the hard sciences) in undergrad.Disclaimer to the disclaimer: I got As. There isn’t another place on the internet I can brag about this, since it happened long ago, so…sorry. I got As!This is a very rich, very interesting, and dense account of how we got from mystical alchemy to the beginning of “real” chemistry of the Scientific Revolution. Oddly, this is an area that is underrepresented in historical scholarship (I don’t get it, because I think it’s one of the most interesting aspects of intellectual/scientific history).The transition from “pure” alchemy to “pure” chemistry is a lot like watching a child grow: there’s vertical progress, but not without periodic regressions and quite a few tantrums. Then, suddenly, you’re shipping your kid off to college and wondering “where did the girl who liked My Little Pony go?”The book itself is a survey, and I’m guessing it was written with graduate students in mind. I’ll punt to the professor:”To include alchemy and chemistry as parts of the Scientific Revolution, it is not necessary to wait until Lavoisier made use of quantitative (gravimetric) techniques in the laboratory, acknowledged the conservation of weight…or explained combustion and calcination by means of oxygen….Cleaving matter from spirit may be a notable achievement from the point of view of contemporary experimental research; but to partition the two in the early modern era, so as to separate wholesome science from feeble metaphysics, is to make a serious mistake.” (p. 184)Also,Chemistry “first became suitable to the university not by becoming anything new or unique but by adapting itself to the procedures of medieval alchemy and traditional (scholastic) natural philosophy.” (p. 185)That really is the book in a nutshell. I would give extra stars for the Lemery bit about ferrets if I could, because I don’t often laugh out loud when I’m reading about the history of science.I would have loved footnotes. Alas.

⭐Bruce Moran is a heavy in the world of academic alchemical studies, and this book is exactly what the history of science needs–after having neglected the serious study of alchemy for too long for the wrong reasons. Of all his books, this is the best place to start for somebody with a general interest in the subject, or those who wish to better understand the true place of alchemy in the development of modern scientific method, as well as the history of chemistry. This book contains a powerful argument for the relevance of alchemy in the development of the modern conception of what scientific knowledge should be understood as consisting of, and should dispel for anyone with “eyes to see” the negative rumours about alchemy being foolish superstition. Alchemy was early modern matter theory, deeply concerned with many of the issues modern scientists can’t fail to neglect. Now historians of science cannot neglect them either.

⭐After reading several popular books on alchemy, it was a relief to find this scholarly, yet easy-to-read, history. Moran sets alchemy in context through time and shows how it fits into the scientific revolution. All the major alchemical heavies are there–including some fascinating material on Paracelsus. Also discusses such things as the evolution of the alchemy/chemistry teaching laboratory. Really a satisfying and fascinating read.

⭐Bought for my son who has applied to study chemistry at university. He was very happy with it and said all would be chemists should read this. Highly recommended.

⭐Bought for a friend’s birthday – he’s delighted with it. Delivery was early.

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