Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Next Step
You've found some really great information about Laviosier, phlogiston and done a great job of keeping a log of websites. Next, you need to print a copy of the paper that you chose for this assignment and read it. I suspect that you will have questions as you read, will need to have a way to figure out what it all actually says. So, I would like for you to keep a record of your questions and post that to the blog. If you can only read a portion of the paper, that's fine...just try to get through the whole thing before next week. I'll be curious to read what you've discovered.
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4 comments:
What are Seven Canons from the seven fold series of the metals?
I am having trouble understanding, it is really wordy.
Ok - keep in mind that this paper was written at a point in time when alchemy was practiced and alchemy was based (in part) on astrology/witchcraft/legends, etc. So, first you have to realize that the word "canon" basically means rules. Then you have to understand that the theory of what gave matter its properties was based on a different concept of nature than we currently use. For example, the first rule (canon) was that all metals come from the one pure metal, mercury. No atomic theory, no understanding of protons, atomic number - every metal came from mercury. You just had to heat and cool it (so it would become a solid) in order to get another metal. Then he goes on to talk about Jupiter, Mars, Venus, etc. as the other folds (which means groups) - so this was a classification system of sorts for classifying metals...I know it's confusing, but remember what you're dealing with here - lots of hocus-pocus. They were trying to explain what they could see in their frame of reference - not terribly scientific, but it made perfect sense to them! I would like for you to continue reading this, if you have not finished, and then write a brief summary of what this paper says to you about alchemy - you may want to consult some other websites about the practice of alchemy to help you sort through this some. Let me know if you have any more questions.
The Coelum Philosophorum is what Paracelsus wrote to explain the properties of metals. There were seven canons or rules. He believed that everything came from mercury and if it was something other than Mercury it just had some Venus or Mars added in. For example if you wanted Gold you use coagulation, making it a solid, and it loses its “Mercurial nature” it still has its properties of Mercury they are dead. They also have an alphabet of their own symbols. The perfect metals are, Sol and Luna. He believed in heaven, he though it was on the sphere of Saturn. He believes that the body is made of Sol and Luna. He also says that if you don’t it is ok, it is better that it should be kept concealed and not made public
You've done a great job with some very old written material - this is not exactly easy stuff to read and summarize. But now we need to shift gears and focus on an assignment using this information. You have some idea at this point of the basis of alchemy (the 7 canons was one part of it). There are two parts to the assignment: a paper and a powerpoint. I can see two possible avenues to investigate. If neither of these is interesting to you, then we can sit and talk about some other focus.
1. Research and report on the major historical developments that caused chemistry to evolve from alchemy.
2. Research and report on the life of Paracelsus, including an "interview" with Paracelsus (you would use some creative skills here - finding enough information to form questions that he could then "answer" based on your information).
Let me know what you want to do.
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