French Literature Reviews - 2026
B. Joly, Descartes et la chimie
History, Politics and Society
Descartes et la chimie
By Bernard Joly
Published: May 3, 2011
Publisher: Vrin
Series: Mathesis
ISBN: 978-2-7116-2330-3
EAN: 9782711623303
Page count: 256 pages
Publisher's price: 24.00€
Although he did not dedicate any standalone work to the subject, Descartes took a keen interest in the chemistry of his time, which was then also known as alchemy.
This aspect of his scientific research has often been overlooked. Yet chemical issues, frequently discussed in his correspondence, find their place in The Meteors (1637) and form the core of the fourth part of The Principles of Philosophy. The successive unfolding of the histories of the universe's formation, the solar system, and the Earth leads into an account of the genesis of various minerals and chemical bodies. Their sensible properties are explained through the mechanical interactions of corpuscles that differ from one another in shape, size, speed, hardness, or sharpness.
These developments lead to extended considerations on the nature and effects of fire. However, far from seeking to elevate chemistry to the status of a science comparable to mechanics or medicine, Descartes instead worked to reduce chemical operations to mechanical ones, thereby challenging the specificity of the operations and concepts inherent to contemporary chemistry.
Indeed, the Cartesian system could be satisfied neither with the chemical "spirits," whose status hovered ambiguously between matter and thought, nor with the Paracelsian principles of Mercury, Sulfur, and Salt, which possessed no substance other than the sensible properties they manifested. This raises the question of whether a Cartesian chemistry was even possible. The corpuscularism of chemists such as Robert Boyle or Nicolas Lémery drew inspiration more from the alchemical tradition and contemporary chemical research than from Cartesianism.
By defending its autonomy from physics and medicine, chemistry was able to flourish during the latter half of the 17th century and throughout the 18th century, establishing itself as an empirical science wary of any metaphysical presuppositions. Consequently, Cartesian influence appears to fade as chemistry continues to develop.
Contents:
CHEMISTRY IN THE AGE OF DESCARTES
DESCARTES AND THE "CHEMISTS" OF HIS TIME
THE MECHANISTIC REDUCTION OF CHEMICAL OBJECTS
THE CARTESIAN REJECTION OF A CHEMICAL SCIENCE
THE LEGACY OF CARTESIAN CHEMISTRY
Bernard Joly is a specialist in the history of early chemistry and its relationship with philosophy.
A member of the UMR "Savoirs, Lettres, Langage", he is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and History of Science at the University of Lille 3.
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An article on this book can be read on the laviedesidees.fr website:
During the seventeenth century, natural philosophy underwent profound transformations as thinkers sought to reconcile traditional learning with emerging mechanistic frameworks. Alchemy and early chemistry occupied a complex space in these debates, often intersecting with medical and physical inquiries. Scholars of early modern science frequently examine how natural philosophers conceptualized matter, elements, and transformations before the establishment of modern chemical nomenclature and theory.
Although he did not dedicate any standalone work to the subject, Descartes took a keen interest in the chemistry of his time, which was then also known as alchemy, and chemical issues find their place in The Meteors and The Principles of Philosophy. Readers interested in the history of early chemistry and seventeenth-century philosophy may find this study relevant to their inquiries into the period's scientific developments.