John C. Powers. Inventing Chemistry

Herman Boerhaave's important contributions to the reform of early modern chemistry have often been appreciated, but until recently, only a few studies have explored his work in an analytical way. Thus John C. Powers's Inventing Chemistry, based on hitherto little-known manuscript sources kept in St. Petersburg, is a most useful addition to the literature, offering a convincing reconstruction of Boerhaave's views on chemistry and alchemy. According to Powers, Boerhaave's success in his design to reform chemistry depended on three main factors: the intimate connection established between chemistry and its pedagogy; the influence of the religious and intellectual beliefs combined with the material infrastructures of the University of Leiden; and the attention paid by Boerhaave to the alchemical tradition and his efforts to embody some of its experimental features into the domain of a new chemistry. In the first chapter, Powers explores Boerhaave's education, the influence of Burchard De Volder's approach to natural philosophy, and the background of Boerhaave's early medical career at the University of Leiden. Chapter two focuses on Boerhaave's early interest in chemistry, which, as Powers shows, originated in the early 1690s and, as is illustrated in chapter three, enabled him to teach chemistry as early as January 1702, soon after he was appointed lecturer in the Institutes of Medicine. Thus chemistry became a fundamental part of Boerhaave's ambitious program of reforming the teaching and the theory of medicine. This led the Dutch physician to reflect upon its principles and its traditional teaching, which soon resulted in the introduction of radical innovations. Boerhaave recognized in chemistry the potential of a theoretical science, and did not, like most of his contemporaries, view it as a confused ensemble of useful arts.

Alchemy · Chemist · Theology · Chemistry · Historical and Scientific Studies · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History of Science and Medicine · Organic Chemistry · Philosophy