Lawrence Principe Knihy

Dentro de la larga historia de la ciencia, pocos periodos resultan tan importantes y cruciales como la “Revolución Científica” que se dio en Occidente en el lapso que abarca aproximadamente los siglos XVI y XVII de nuestra era. En esta breve introducción, Lawrence M. Principe ofrece una aproximación tan amena como rigurosa a estos tiempos fascinantes en los que la reelaboración y el desarrollo de la herencia medieval se vio afectada de forma decisiva por las nuevas formas en que los pensadores pasaron a relacionarse con los mundos circundantes, así como a afrontar y resolver los problemas que se les iban planteando; unos tiempos en los que se sentaron muchos de los fundamentos sobre los que siguen descansando los conocimientos y métodos científicos actuales.

Focusing on Wilhelm Homberg, this biography explores his pivotal role in the evolution of chymistry between the eras of Robert Boyle and Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier. Celebrated for his innovative, experimental approach, Homberg bridged traditional alchemy and modern chemistry while engaging in the pursuit of metallic transmutation. Lawrence M. Principe reveals new insights into Homberg's contributions at the Académie Royale, reshaping the understanding of chymistry and its institutional developments in the early eighteenth century.

In The Secrets of Alchemy, Lawrence M. Principe, one of the world’s leading authorities on the subject, brings alchemy out of the shadows and restores it to its important place in human history and culture. By surveying what alchemy was and how it began, developed, and overlapped with a range of ideas and pursuits, Principe illuminates the practice. He vividly depicts the place of alchemy during its heyday in early modern Europe, and then explores how alchemy has fit into wider views of the cosmos and humanity, touching on its enduring place in literature, fine art, theater, and religion as well as its recent acceptance as a serious subject of study for historians of science. In addition, he introduces the reader to some of the most fascinating alchemists, such as Zosimos and Basil Valentine, whose lives dot alchemy’s long reign from the third century and to the present day. Through his exploration of alchemists and their times, Principe pieces together closely guarded clues from obscure and fragmented texts to reveal alchemy’s secrets, and—most exciting for budding alchemists—uses them to recreate many of the most famous recipes in his lab, including those for the “glass of antimony” and “philosophers’ tree.” This unique approach brings the reader closer to the actual work of alchemy than any other book.

Lawrence M. Principe takes a fresh approach to the story of the scientific revolution, emphasising the historical context of the society and its world view at the time. From astronomy to alchemy and medicine to geology, he tells this fascinating story from the perspective of the historical characters involved.