Robert Boyle Reconsidered

This book presents a new view of Robert Boyle (1627-91), the leading British scientist in the generation before Newton.

This book presents a new view of Robert Boyle (1627–91), the leading British scientist in the generation before Newton. It comprises a series of essays by scholars from Europe and North America which scrutinise Boyle's writings on science, philosophy and theology in detail, bringing out the subtlety of his ideas and the complexity of his relationship with his context. Particular attention is given to Boyle's interest in alchemy and to other facets of his ideas which might initially seen surprising in a leading advocate of the mechanical philosophy. Many of the essays use material from among Boyle's extensive manuscripts, which have recently been catalogued for the first time. The introduction surveys the state of Boyle studies and deploys the findings of the essays to offer a revaluation of Boyle. The book also includes a bibliography of writings on Boyle since 1940.

List of abbreviations; Preface; 1. Introduction Michael Hunter; 2. Virtue, providence and political neutralism: Boyle and interregnum politics Malcolm Oster; 3. Science writing and writing science: Boyle and rhetorical theory John T. Harwood; 4. Learning from experience: Boyle's construction of an experimental philosophy Rose-Mary Sargent; 5. Carneades and the chemists: a study of The Sceptical Chymist and its impact on seventeenth-century chemistry Antonio Clericuzio; 6. Boyle's alchemical pursuits Lawrence M. Principe; 7. Boyle's debt to corpuscular alchemy William R. Newman; 8. Boyle and cosmical qualities John Henry; 9. The theological context of Boyle's Things above Reason Jan W. Wojcik; 10. 'Parcere nominibus': Boyle, Hooke and the rhetorical interpretation of Descartes Edward B. Davis; 11. Teleological reasoning in Boyle's Disquisition about Final Causes Timothy Shanahan; 12. Locke and Boyle on miracles and God's existence J. J. Macintosh; Bibliography of writings on Boyle published since 1940; Index.

This book presents a new view of Robert Boyle (1627-91), the leading British scientist in the generation before Newton, bringing out the subtlety of his ideas and the complexity of his relationship with his context.