Customer Reviews

Atoms and Alchemy: Chymistry and the Experimental Origins of the Scientific Revolution

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This is an excellent account of the influence of early atomism on the mechanical philosophy of the 17th century. The autor gives convincing arguments for the important influence of alchymist practises and considerations on Boyle. The autor does not rely on the hearsay about ``mechanical philosophy'' repeated in countless historical reviews, but rather on the original sources. This avoids the danger of ``falling into the pitfalls of simplicity'', a reproach made by the great physicist Abraham Pais against T. Kuhn.
The book is a must for everybody interested in the history of atomism.

H.G. Dosch

This is a great book showing the links between mechanical and Aristotelian philosophy. In spite of being different models of science, they are not so separated in some aspects. In fact, the modern Boyle took in account several aspects of Alchemists. Therefore, the so-called scientific revolution did not started from zero, but from a well developed tradition of the middle ages. This is illustrated by the transition from Alchemy to Chemistry.