Works Cited
Banchetti-Robino, Maria Paolo. “Beyond Alchemy: Robert Boyle’s Mechanical Philosophy.” Research Outreach, 4 Jan. 2021, researchoutreach.org/articles/beyond-alchemy-robert-boyles-mechanical-philosophy/.
In this writing Dr. Banchetti-Robino explores how even though Boyle was a known Alchemist his experiments had an impact greater than Alchemy and would be the foundation of what would eventually prove Alchemy to be wrong. Dr. Banchetti-Robino compares Cartesian ideas from Descartes and Gassendi, to Boyle’s mechanical philosophy, in which he disagreed with many of Descartes’ ideas, but was able to use Gassendi’s ideas of the concept of a molecule to form an idea of what an atom would be. Dr. Banchetti-Robino also heavily focuses on Boyle’s experiments and their impact on modern chemistry, which would ultimately give him the title of the father of modern chemistry.
Boyle, Robert William. “The Origin of Forms and Qualities (According to the Corpuscular …” Edited by Johnathan Bennett, Https://Www.earlymoderntexts.com/Assets/Pdfs/boyle1666_2.Pdf, 2017, www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/boyle1666_2.pdf.
Boyle focuses on the idea of matter, questioning where matter comes from and what it consists of. Boyle discusses the metaphysical arguments for how substances are able to be interacted with and how they can react with one another. Boyle then talks about experiments in which he studies the properties of substances and how they interact with one another in order to gain a better understanding of matter, and ultimately make conclusions about the elements.
Boyle, Robert William. “Excellence of Theology.” Edited by Johnathan Bennett, Early Modern Texts, 2017, www.earlymoderntexts.com/assets/pdfs/.
Boyle studies the human body to discuss immortality, using work from Descartes to help support his argument while at the same time disagreeing with certain aspects of Descartes’ work, specifically about Cartesians. Boyle then writes about the significance of studying theology, connecting God’s creations (being people) to an obligation to study and ask questions about God himself. After talking about the importance of God and Theology he then discusses the benefits of theology, comparing it to the advantages of Natural Philosophy.
Boyle, Robert William. The Sceptical Chymist. 1666. Internet Archive, archive.org/details/scepticalchymist00boylrich/page/xviii/mode/2up. Accessed 12 Oct. 2022.
The main argument of the Sceptical Chymist is Boyle disagreeing with Aristotle’s beliefs of the elements, earth, fire, air and water. Boyle also studied chemical principles, which allowed him to create the concept of what an element was. Boyle elaborates on how compounds are created by small particles and how particles cannot be on there own and must join together.
MacIntosh, J. J., and Peter Anstey. “Robert Boyle.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 4 Nov. 2018, plato.stanford.edu/entries/boyle/.
This entry not only talks about Boyle’s life but also expands on how he viewed the world and how that view compares with other philosophers such as Spinoza, Descartes and Newton. After discussing the life of Boyle this article connects his childhood and upbringing to his religious and world view, talking about the existence of God, as Descartes did, as well as the creation of the world itself. Most importantly the article discusses the number of experiments Boyle conducted and how it connects to and strengthened his philosophical beliefs.
Principe, Lawrence M. “Robert Boyle.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 11 Oct. 2022, www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Boyle.
This biography of Robert Boyle discusses not only his scientific career and his numerous experiments, but also his arguments on theology and how he took part in the Royal Society. The article talks about Robert Boyle’s argument against Aristotle’s ideas of the elements and how he was able to work his argument into coming to the conclusion of the first idea of what an actual chemical element was. Due to Boyle’s work with experiments he became known for the use of mechanical philosophy which the article expands on how he uses this philosophy to make conclusions about what we now call atoms.