Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
Fundamentally this master narrative concerning science and scientists
is about fear - fear of specialized knowledge and the power that knowl-
edge confers on the few, leaving the majority of the population ignorant
and therefore impotent. In a typical scenario the mad scientist achieves a
knowledge break-through that threatens the social order (sometimes the
whole planet), either through evil designs or by accident ('collateral
damage' in today's media-speak). Even though the disaster may be (and
usually is) averted, the memory of disempowerment remains, augment-
ing the repository of previous fears, to be recalled the next time there is a
new knowledge breakthrough and hence the perception of a new threat.
The origins and trappings of this potent story lie in the precursor of
chemistry, alchemy. Although dismissed by scientists as outmoded and
irrelevant to their practice, alchemy has continued to provide a potent
source of myth-making for the critique of modern science. Its chequered
reputation has been revived and reinforced as perennially pertinent by
writers, by artists and film-makers and, perversely, by scientists them-
selves in response to both their own psychological proclivities and the
constraints placed on them by contemporary scientific culture with its
emphasis on the priority of publication and by military or industrial re-
quirements of secrecy.
2.
The Popular Appeal of Alchemy
The craft of alchemy both intrigued and frightened those who hovered on
its fringes. Its allure lay in the immensity and immediacy of its promises
and its professions of power surpassing that of kings or priests. In their
most crude form these promises might now seem to appeal only to the
excessively naïve or the inordinately greedy, yet in their generic form
they continue to be highly attractive. To understand the ongoing fascina-
tion with the figure of the alchemist, we need to review some of the
perceived foci of alchemy and the way in which they achieved a paradig-
matic status, as well as the origins of the evil reputation that coalesced
about such practices.
The history of alchemy has been well documented (Burckhardt 1967,
Caron et al. 1961, Cummings 1966, Debus et al. 1966, Edwardes 1977,
Gettings 1986, Hollister 1990, Lindsay 1970, Read 1947) and will be
