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Ontological Tensions in 16th and 17th Century Chemistry: Between Mechanism and Vitalism
by Marina P Banchetti (also: Banchetti-Robino)
Abstract: The 16th and 17th centuries mark a period of transition between the vitalistic ontology that had dominated Renaissance natural philosophy and the Early Modern mechanistic paradigm endorsed by, among others, the Cartesians and Newtonians. This paper will focus on how the tensions between vitalism and mechanism played themselves out in the context of 16th and 17th century chemistry and chemical philosophy, particularly in the works of Paracelsus, Jan Baptist Van Helmont, Robert Fludd, and Robert Boyle.
https://www.academia.edu/2087104/Ontolog...d_Vitalism
by Marina P Banchetti (also: Banchetti-Robino)
Abstract: The 16th and 17th centuries mark a period of transition between the vitalistic ontology that had dominated Renaissance natural philosophy and the Early Modern mechanistic paradigm endorsed by, among others, the Cartesians and Newtonians. This paper will focus on how the tensions between vitalism and mechanism played themselves out in the context of 16th and 17th century chemistry and chemical philosophy, particularly in the works of Paracelsus, Jan Baptist Van Helmont, Robert Fludd, and Robert Boyle.
https://www.academia.edu/2087104/Ontolog...d_Vitalism