Isaac Newton and the Transmutation of Alchemy An Alternative View of the Scientific Revolution

by FANNING, PHILIP ASHLEY

• ISBN13: 9781556437724
• ISBN10: 1556437722
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-07-07
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books

Summary

One of History's Most Influential Scientists, Sir Isaac Newton was also a devoted practitioner of the shadowy art of alchemy. For centuries, this facet of his work has been dismissed as an irrelevant holdover from an era of superstition, but in recent years a deepening scholarly understanding of esoteric science has brought about a reappraisal and reinterpretation of Newton's hermetic labors.

Author Biography

Educated at Swarthmore, Philip Fanning gained a scrupulous understanding of the culture of modern science during twenty years with W. H. Freeman and Company, the book-publishing arm of Scientific American. His discovery that Isaac Newton was an alchemist led him to a research project that consumed three years and resulted in this pioneering study. As he observes, "I can't help but feel that even though Newton deliberately concealed his greatest contribution to the history of thought, part of him hoped it would eventually see the light of day." Fanning is also the author of Mark Twain and Orion Clemens: Brothers, Partners, Strangers (2003). He lives in San Francisco.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
A Note to the Reader	p. xi
Preface	p. xiii
The Christianization of Alchemy	p. 1
John Dee Puts Alchemy on a New Footing	p. 17
Dee's Angelic Mission	p. 35
Francis Bacon's Mask	p. 57
The Rosicrucian Furor	p. 77
Defeat and Revival	p. 101
Alchemy Divided	p. 133
Isaac Newton, Alchemist	p. 153
The Advent of Modern Science	p. 185
Afterword	p. 219
Appendix: Pauli on Alchemy	p. 225
Bibliography	p. 229
Index	p. 235
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