A Commentary on The Sceptical Chymist of Robert Boyle Vol. 1 of 2 by Conleth Patrick Loonan, M.Sc., M.Litt. Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy to Maynooth University Presented to: The Department of Philosophy 31st October, 2014 Supervisor and Head of Department: Dr Michael Dunne TABLE OF CONTENTS TO VOL. 1 Quotation Acknowledgements Abstract Page no. Introduction: i Explanatory Notes ii Introduction to Commentary iii Methodology xi General Considerations xi The Rationale Underlying Commentary xi Choice of Edition xi Style of Commentary xi Practical Considerations xii The Process of Commenting xiii Literature Review 1 Introduction 2 Part 1: 2 Works on the History of Chemistry and of Alchemy 3 Henry M. Leicester, The Historical Background of Chemistry 3 E.J. Holmyard, Alchemy 4 James R. Partington, A History of Chemistry, vol.2 5 Maurice P. Crosland, Historical Studies in the Language of Chemistry 5 Robert P. Multhauf, The Origins of Chemistry 6 William H. Brock, The Norton History of Chemistry 6 William R. Newman, Promethean Ambitions. Alchemy and the Quest to Perfect Nature 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS TO VOL. 1 Works on the Scientific Revolution 7 E.J. Dijksterhuis, The Mechanization of the World Picture 7 A. Rupert Hall, From Galileo to Newton 9 A Work Treating Specifically of Boyle 11 Marie Boas, Robert Boyle and Seventeenth-Century Chemistry 11 Part 2: 11 M. M. Pattison Muir, (Introduction to) The Sceptical Chymist 12 E. A. Moelwyn-Hughes, (Introduction to) The Sceptical Chymist 17 Tenney L. Davis, ‘The First Edition of The Sceptical Chymist’ 19 Louis Trenchard More, The Life and Works of the Honourable Robert Boyle 21 Marie Boas, ‘An Early Version of Boyle’s: Sceptical Chymist’ 27 Jan V. Golinsky, ‘Robert Boyle: scepticism and authority in seventeenth-century chemical discourse’ 30 Antonio Clericuzio, ‘Carneades and the Chemists: a study of The Sceptical Chymist and its impact on seventeenth-century chemistry’ 34 Lawrence M. Principe, ‘Skeptical of The Sceptical Chymist’ 39 Thomas Duddy, ‘“A Piece of Green-Wood Burning” Boyle against the elements’ 41 José R. Maia Neto and Elene C. Pereira Maia, ‘Boyle’s Carneades’ 48 Conclusion 56 Prelude to Commentary 58 The Case for The Sceptical Chymist 59 Boyle, Paracelsians and Aristotelians 61 What Boyle does not like about the Paracelsians 61 Those behind the Etiquettes ‘Paracelsians’ and ‘Aristotelians’ 64 TABLE OF CONTENTS TO VOL. 1 Boyle’s Philosophy of Matter 69 Transmutation 70 The Extent and Limits of Boyle’s Corpuscular Philosophy 72 Corpuscles and Effluviums 73 Influences on Boyle 77 Earlier Influences 77 Aristotle 79 Hobbes and Linus 81 The Commentary: A Praeface Introductory Introductory Remarks 83 Physiological Considerations Introductory Remarks 96 The First Part Introductory Remarks 132 The Second Part Introductory Remarks 203 The Third Part Introductory Remarks 271 every telling has a taling and that’s the he and the she of it. James Joyce, Finnegans Wake ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all I would like to thank my supervisor, and head of the Philosophy Department, Dr Michael Dunne, for accepting this, my second project with him and for his continuing sensitive, yet thorough supervision of my commentary-in-the-making, and Prof. Alan Chalmers for his helpful remarks on the commentary. I wish to express my gratitude to all those, family and friends alike, who maintained an ongoing interest in my undertaking, for their encouragement during these past four years; to the members of the Philosophy Department of Maynooth University, especially during the Philosophy Postgraduate Workshop meetings, for their useful comments and support, and to the current and recently graduated doctoral students of the Department, who not only maintained contact with, and inspired my project, but also set a standard of excellence for me to aspire to. I am grateful also for the financial support I received from the Pat and John Hume Scholarship Scheme during the first year of my project, and from the Irish Research Council for the subsequent three years. Finally, my thanks to Breege Lynch for employing her keyboard skills and unending patience in converting my fair copy into this typescript. Conleth Loonan Maynooth, September 27th 2014. ABSTRACT The purpose of this project is to elucidate Robert Boyle’s The Sceptical Chymist to the contemporary reader – in particular one with a knowledge either of philosophy or of chemistry. The body of the work divides naturally into three distinct sections: Literature Review in which some twenty articles treating of the work in question are reviewed. The intention here is to offer varying opinions and analyses of the book, so that the reader might have a broader perspective on it, followed by the Prelude to Commentary in which is described the broader context within which The Sceptical Chymist is located; The Commentary proper in which Boyle’s text is narrated to the reader, with both the philosophical and scientific content of the work explained, information on obsolete or unusual words, translations as appropriate, and biographical details on many of those mentioned in the work supplied; The Discussion and Conclusion identifies some of the most important themes running through Boyle’s book and elaborates on these, the aim being to offer the reader a more detailed exposition of some of the notions which preoccupied or influenced Boyle. INTRODUCTION i INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION Explanatory Notes. The readership envisaged for this commentary are the new-comers to The Sceptical Chymist, having either a philosophy or chemistry background, with an effort being made to explain the philosophy to the chemist, and the chemistry to both the philosopher and the reader conversant only with contemporary chemistry. This commentary is based on a facsimile of the first edition of The Sceptical Chymist of 1661. References of the original text are made by citing the page and line number, for example 359.11-13 refers to page 359, lines 11 to 13. Some of the page numbers in the original work are given incorrectly. Where this occurs the correct page is given in square brackets on all quotations from such pages. Square brackets, in all cases, have been added by the present author. Boyle’s A Praeface Introductory, in the edition under consideration, lacks proper pagination, so the page references are adapted and extended from the alphabetical designations given at the bottom of the first few pages, beginning with A1. The right hand side of the page is labelled ‘r.’ (abbreviated from recto), and that on the left ‘v.’ (verso). Thus, the first page is identified as A1r., and that of the second A1v.. The ii INTRODUCTION pagination on the book itself runs out after A4, so the next leaf is labelled A5r. and A5v.. These ‘virtual’ page designations are identified with square brackets. Introduction to Commentary The primary objective of writing this commentary is to explain The Sceptical Chymist to the reader who, even though they may have already studied philosophy or chemistry, remains a newcomer to Boyle’s writings. For many would-be readers of Boyle, this may well be the only work of his they intend to read, although it is to be hoped that, having been assisted to read one work by him, they may develop the confidence, and find the interest, to tackle some others as well. The reader who comes to this work as their first encounter with Boyle, apart from, perhaps, their learning – even proving Boyle’s Law – is sure to find it a difficult, even perplexing, read. The qualities of the book, both positive and negative, are well rehearsed in the Literature Review, but whatever the merits or otherwise of the work, it does offer a vista on the state of knowledge of the physical sciences in Boyle’s time, in particular, a perspective on the science of chymistry or proto-chemistry, as it gradually hived off from its alchemical antecedents. What is taken for granted in our time, was novel in Boyle’s, that of material change explained in terms of rearrangements occurring at the most fundamental – atomic – level, and had to be argued for against the rival, and more firmly established, accounts: that of elemental transmutation, as the Aristotelians would have it, or as the expression of the three principles of the Paracelsians. As a consequence of this, much of The Sceptical Chymist is given over to opposing these doctrines, especially iii INTRODUCTION the Paracelsian, with Boyle taking every effort to undermine and overturn this latter teaching through his spokesman, Carneades. Time after time he speaks out against the inconsistency, obscurity and unconvincing explanations of the Paracelsian doctrine, all the while relating detailed accounts of his own laboratory experiments, as he strives to settle such questions as to the nature and number of the elements, and the role of fire in the analysing of bodies. In presenting his dialogue Boyle illuminates the scientific and philosophical landscape of the decades both before and during his own lifetime, with numerous references to those who were active at those times, and to their beliefs. Apart from the frequent citing of matters relating to philosophy and chemistry, there are mentions to mineralogy, biology, mechanics, astronomy and travel, all of which combine to produce a lively portrayal of the state of knowledge of the natural world as seen through the eyes of a curious, perceptive, well-informed, discriminating writer. It is hoped that the reader who works through this commentary will receive a real insight into The Sceptical Chymist, then through it a better understanding both of the emerging science of chemistry and of the philosophical and scientific background from which it emerged, and that he or she will be adequately provided with information on those areas in need of explanation or elucidation throughout the text.