{"product_id":"the-aspiring-adept-lawrence-principe-9780691050829","title":"The Aspiring Adept: Robert Boyle and His Alchemical Quest","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Aspiring Adept\u003c\/i\u003e presents a provocative new view of Robert Boyle (1627-1691), one of the leading figures of the Scientific Revolution, by revealing for the first time his avid and lifelong pursuit of alchemy. Boyle has traditionally been considered, along with Newton, a founder of modern science because of his mechanical philosophy and his experimentation with the air-pump and other early scientific apparatus. However, Lawrence Principe shows that his alchemical quest--hidden first by Boyle's own codes and secrecy, and later suppressed or ignored--positions him more accurately in the intellectual and cultural crossroads of the seventeenth century. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Principe radically reinterprets Boyle's most famous work, \u003ci\u003eThe Sceptical Chymist\u003c\/i\u003e, to show that it criticizes not alchemists, as has been thought, but \"unphilosophical\" pharmacists and textbook writers. He then shows Boyle's unambiguous enthusiasm for alchemy in his \"lost\" \u003ci\u003eDialogue on the Transmutation and Melioration of Metals\u003c\/i\u003e, now reconstructed from scattered fragments and presented here in full for the first time. Intriguingly, Boyle believed that the goal of his quest, the Philosopher's Stone, could not only transmute base metals into gold, but could also attract angels. Alchemy could thus act both as a source of knowledge and as a defense against the growing tide of atheism that tormented him. In seeking to integrate the seemingly contradictory facets of Boyle's work, Principe also illuminates how alchemy and other \"unscientific\" pursuits had a far greater impact on early modern science than has previously been thought.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Lawrence Principe\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691050821\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691050829\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/08\/2000\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 340\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.10lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.27h x 6.16w x 0.86d","brand":"Lawrence Principe","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43925603844351,"sku":"9780691050829","price":58.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_85557898-d240-4e15-a3ba-4cc3539c8fd4.jpg?v=1681078255","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-aspiring-adept-lawrence-principe-9780691050829","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}