Natural Philosophy: Including Mathematics, Optics, And Alchemy | Betty Jo Teeter Dobbs (essay date 1991)
Betty Jo Teeter Dobbs (essay date 1991)
SOURCE: "Isaac Newton, Philosopher by Fire," in The Janus Faces of Genius: The Role of Alchemy in Newton's Thought, Cambridge University Press, 1991, pp. 1-18.
[In the following essay, Dobbs challenges critics who have doubted or suppressed the influence of alchemy on Newton's scientific thought.]
Introduction
Isaac Newton studied alchemy from about 1668 until the second or third decade of the eighteenth century. He combed the literature of alchemy, compiling voluminous notes and even transcribing entire treatises in his own hand. Eventually he drafted treatises of his own, filled with references to the older literature. The manuscript legacy of his scholarly endeavor is very large and represents a huge commitment of his time, but to it one must add the record of experimentation. Each brief and often abruptly cryptic laboratory report hides behind itself untold hours with hand-built...
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