Alchemy, Mining, Speculation & Experimentation

Okan Nurettin Okur investigates the philosophy of chemistry.

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Imagine a chemist and a philosopher going on a long walk. Do you think they could discover common ground while looking at nature together? On the one hand, we have a scientist, who believes in the infallibility of formulas, who accepts that numbers cannot lie, who measures and analyzes, who seeks the answer in the world he sees through the lens of a microscope; on the other hand, a philosopher, whose only tool is reason, and who questions everything to the finest detail, and yet is never fully convinced...

Actually, they’re not that far from each other. It was Aristotle who made the first systematic investigations into chemistry through observations and conceptual analysis in the fourth century BC. In addition, alchemy emerged through the blending of the natural philosophy of ancient Greece with Eastern mysticism.

A History of the Philosophy of Chemistry

Alchemy, which was popular throughout the Middle Ages, was seen as mystical philosophical knowledge during the Renaissance, but it would also lay the foundations of modern chemistry. With a history of at least 2,500 years, beginning in Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Iran, India, and China, alchemy’s greatest goal was to find the ‘philosopher’s stone’, a mystical substance believed to be able to transform all other metals into gold. They were also looking for the elixir of life, which gave immortality; love potions; and so on.

Alchemy was a source of inspiration for natural philosophers trying to unravel the secrets of nature during the Renaissance, in particular, those alchemical experiments aimed at examining the components of matter and understanding how the elements transformed into each other. During this investigation, techniques were used which would later form the basis of modern chemistry, such as metal purification, distillation, and fermentation.