The wonderful ultraculture.org blog recently posted a piece by Anne Webb on the origins of the varied Alchemy traditions of the Middle East, India, Far East Asia and Europe, the concepts involved, the practical results it achieved, the causes of its decline and its influence on modern science. In discussing it’s decline the piece opines:
“In the 18th century, Western alchemy was in decline due to the birth of modern chemistry, which detached itself from religion and spirituality, and embraced a more precise and empirical framework based on the scientific method. Alchemy was then generally understood to mean ‘gold-making,’ which gave rise to the popular belief that alchemy is charlatanism and superstition. Poor translations of adulterated documents with esoteric and spiritualistic interpretations also contributed to alchemy’s decline.”
Read the entire piece here:
http://ultraculture.org/blog/2016/03/27/alchemy-forbidden-science-world-history/
Thanks to Soror Hypatia for the tip!
