STS 471
The Philosopher's Stone: Alchemy, the Spiritual Life of Matter, and the Making of Modern Science Fall 2025
Division II
Cross-listed REL 371 / COMP 371

Older histories often dismissed alchemy as a misguided detour modern science had to abandon. Yet, as this course will show, alchemy’s emphasis on experiment, theories of matter, and vision of transformation were not obstacles to science but central to its foundations. We will pay special attention to how changing notions of the nature of matter–from animate substances to inert building blocks to models of complexity and emergence–reflected deeper shifts in natural philosophy, religious thought, and experimental practice. Although the Scientific Revolution is frequently framed as the triumph of chemistry over alchemy, alchemical practices did not simply vanish and were actually central to the work of Robert Boyle, Isaac Newton, and others. This seminar, with occasional lectures, will examine alchemy at the intersection of the history of science, religion, and philosophy, with a primary focus on the period surrounding the Chemical Revolution. Alongside philosophical and experimental concerns, we will also explore alchemy’s material culture, from artisanal craft knowledge to the economic and social significance of key substances like gold and mercury. By engaging counterfactual histories, we will explore how chemistry/alchemy might have evolved differently. This includes a unit on science fiction and a philosophical examination of chemistry as an alternative ontological framework, drawing on Isabelle Stengers and others, to rethink how alchemical visions of matter might challenge dominant reductionisms. After an initial exploration of alchemy in antiquity and the Islamicate world, readings will focus on primary texts from the 15th to the late 18th century, alongside key works in the history and philosophy of science (HPS) and Science and Technology Studies (STS). (This course will function as a senior seminar for Science & Technology Studies concentrators, but it is also open to students with other concentrations/interests.)