Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
separately. I begin with materialism and its cousin nihilism in this sec-
tion, before dealing with hubris and the emergence of the 'mad scientists'
in the next section.
Since materialism was first popular in France, I take the first example
from Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850). His
Comédie humaine
, particularly
the
Éditudes philosophiques
, are full of 'chemists'. Some of them are ac-
tually historical figures provided with detailed characters and a human
face, for instance Vauquelin in
César Birotteau
. In
La Peau de Chagrin
(1831,
The Magic Skin
), however, Balzac presented a rather general view
of his contemporary scientists.
31
There is a wondrous piece of leather in
the possession of Raphael that fulfils all his lustful wishes. However, for
each wish, as the fiendish pact goes, Raphael loses a period of his re-
maining lifetime, represented by the stepwise shrinkage of the skin.
When the piece has already shrunk to an alarmingly small size in chapter
3 (“The Agony”), Raphael is seeking advice from scientists to learn more
about the skin and how to expand it in order to prolong his lifetime. The
first scientist to be asked (for this metaphorical elixir of life) is a
natural-
iste
,
i.e
. a historian of nature. This “high priest of zoology” gives a great
many details about animal species, but finally confesses that he has noth-
ing to say about the issue. The second is the mathematician Planchette, a
professor of the mechanical philosophy of nature, who at first delivers a
long pseudo-philosophical speech about the principles of movement, na-
ture, and God, and then suggests that the skin should be subjected to his
ingenious invention, a gigantic hydraulic press. As it happens, the skin
resists the press, which instead flies in all directions. Finally comes the
chemist Baron Japhet. Without much talking, he suggests a battery of
methods for chemical analysis (
e.g
. fluoric acid, melted potash, nitrogen
chloride, electric shock, galvanic battery), which all turn out to be like
playthings to the skin. Science, so Balzac's general moral goes, is power-
less concerning existential matters.
Besides his generally low opinion of the sciences, Balzac provides a
series of particular attacks on chemistry during a conversation in the
chemical laboratory. One reinforces the powerlessness of chemists:
31
Firstpublishedas
La Peau de Chagrin: Roman Philosophique
(Paris: Gosselin et Ca-
nel, 1831), 2 vols.; see Schaffner 1996, pp. 72ff.
