• Another theory by a philosopher named Empedocles stated that everything is made up of

LESSON 3: ATOMOS, ARISTOTLE AND
ALCHEMY
(CHEMISTRY BEFORE MODERN
HISTORY
Atomism, Non-atomistic views of the Greeks, The growth of alchemy across different
civilizations and Western Alchemy
four eternal and unchanging kinds of matter, fire, air (all gases), water (all liquids and metals)
and earth (all solids).
• The well-known philosopher Plato further expanded Empedocles’ theory by saying each of
the four kinds of matter is composed of geometrical solids (the “Platonic solids”) further
divisible into triangles. When rearranged, these triangles could cause the apparent
transformations between the four basic kinds of matter.
• Aristotle, on the other hand, believed that the four elements could be balanced in
substances in an infinite number of ways, and that when combined gave proportions of
“essential qualities,” hot, dry, cold and wet. Transformations between the four elements (or
changes in their balance in a substance) caused changes in the universe.

Leucippus and Democritus were two of the most important theorists about the natural and
physical world. They were called physicists in Ancient Greece. They considered the idea of
atomism, or the idea that things are made up of much smaller things that cannot be changed
nor divided. Among the features of their theory were the following:
• Atoms make up most of the things in the universe; where there are no atoms, there
is a void.
• Atoms are incredibly small and cannot be divided, hence atomos (uncuttable).
• Atoms themselves are solid, homogeneous and cannot change.
• Atoms moving about and colliding in the void cause the changes we see in our
universe.
• The shapes, sizes and weights of individual atoms influence the characteristics of
the thing they make up; e.g. sharp atoms cause our tongues to tear and make bitter
or sour tastes, and atoms that compose clay are joined by flexible joints which
harden when the clay is baked.
❖ Atomism, although more a philosophical idea than a scientific one was closest to
our current thinking about matter. Despite having advocates, atomism was set
aside because more prominent philosophers opposed it. Religious groups later
declared it as heretical or blasphemous because they deemed atomistic thinking
denied the existence of God.
How the Greeks thought about matter and the world:
• The philosopher Anaxagoras argued that there was an infinite number of elementary
natural substances in the form of infinitesimally small particles that combined to comprise
the different things in the universe.
While our concept of matter didn’t advance much during this time, the practical aspect of
dealing with substances, matter and materials flourished in different civilizations before and
after the Greeks:
• The Mesopotamians had techniques to utilize metals like gold and copper. They even
assigned certain symbols to match metals with the heavenly bodies such as the Sun and
Moon. They also made use of other materials such as dyes, glass, paints, and perfumes.
• The Egyptians adapted techniques from the Mesopotamians and perfected the use of
bronze, dye and glass that the Greeks later copied.
• The Chinese also had their own processes for metalwork and ceramic materials, but they
especially focused on finding minerals, plants and substances that could prolong life. Some
of the substances discovered in Chinese medicine have been found to have actual positive
effects while others were found useless or even harmful, like mercury.
• The Indians, like the Chinese, had a kind of alchemy (rasayana) that looked at different
substances and practices for Vedic medicine. This is tied closely to Hindu and Buddhist
beliefs. They also perfected the use of iron and steel and were well-known manufacturers of
dyes, glass, cement, solutions for textiles, and soap.
• The Arabs and Muslims enriched not only the practice but also the literature of chemistry.
In particular, the scholar Jabir Ibn-Hayyan, also known as Geber, translated the practices and
Aristotelian thinking of the Greeks and wrote extensively on how metals can be purified. He
came up with the preparation of acids such as nitric, hydrochloric and sulfuric acids, as well
as aqua regia (nitro-hydrochloric acid).
▪ Despite many of the progress being practical, much of it was shrouded in mysticism
or cultural beliefs, and was often a result of trial and error. These advances in
 materials, metallurgy and medicine would often be collectively referred to in
history as alchemy, from the Arabic/Greek alkīmiyā or “the art of transmuting.”

▪ The field of alchemy became popular in the Western world because of Aristotle’s
ideas on the elements and the techniques developed by other civilizations.
Alchemists tried to play with the balance of the four elements (fire, water, air,
earth) and three principles (salt, sulfur and mercury) to transform or transmute
substances. Among their aims was to try and transform “impure” or “base” metals
like lead or iron into the “purer” metals of silver or gold, discover a magical
“Philosopher’s Stone,” and produce the so-called “Elixir of Life.” With a T-chart,
distinguish how alchemy both contributed to and hampered scientific thought.

SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS UNSCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS

refined how to crystallize, condense, distill, used incantations, magic spells and symbol
evaporate and dissolve metals and
materials

took lots of notes and information about used esoteric symbols connected to
what they did astrology and religion

developed step-by-step procedures and concerned with riches, purity, immortality,

specialized set-ups or equipment and spirits

discovered and investigated the properties promoted the Aristotelian concept of the
of many now-useful substances such as elements
phosphorus, sulfur and potash

The pre-modern era, the understanding of chemistry was distinct from the practice of
chemistry. While alchemists had the wrong understanding of matter, much of what they did
set the stage for much of modern chemistry. For this reason, alchemy is considered a
protoscience, a precursor that allowed the field of chemistry to be what it is today.

Protoscience - An unscientific field of study which later developed into real science (e.g.
astrology toward astronomy and alchemy toward chemistry).