George Starkey and American Science in the Scientific Revolution

“我之所以能看到这一点，是因为我站在了巨人的肩膀上。”这句话被认为是艾萨克·牛顿的，尽管它可能起源于中世纪，但几乎已经成为科学界的陈词滥调。虽然不贬低天才在科学进步中的作用，但确实，科学是一种集体活动，许多人在其中做出贡献，有的多，有的少。重要的是要了解科学的社会组织，以及科学家如何相互作用、借鉴和反应彼此的想法。纽曼博士在对乔治·斯塔基的研究中，将考察一个特别有趣的科学家互动案例，因为斯塔基是一名在美国接受教育的炼金术士，对科学革命的推进做出了贡献。因为，尽管我们现在认为炼金术和占星术一样是一种“伪科学”，但炼金术实际上在艾萨克·牛顿思想的发展和罗伯特·博伊尔工作产生的新化学科学的发展中发挥了极其重要的作用。斯塔基通过他的著作影响了牛顿，并实际上与博伊尔合作。简而言之，出生在美国殖民地的斯塔基是牛顿和博伊尔都站在其肩膀上的“巨人”之一。乔治·斯塔基(1627-1665)出生于百慕大，当时是美国殖民地的一部分，1643-1666年在哈佛接受教育。在小约翰·温斯罗普的指导下，他在那里学习了炼金术。1650年，他搬到伦敦，加入了哈特利卜的“隐形学院”，这是一个非正式的聚会，那些对科学问题感兴趣的人可以在那里交流想法。他为罗伯特·博伊尔做了大量的实验。纽曼博士将在这项研究中证明的假说之一是，斯塔基实际上是笔名作家，他的炼金术在17世纪末席卷了欧洲。艾萨克·牛顿是费城手稿的狂热收藏家，现在看来，他那微不足道的“坚果物质理论”可能更多地归功于斯塔基，而不是其他任何作家。斯塔基的历史重要性在于他是第一位在欧洲享有盛誉的美国科学家，而斯塔基的作品在艾萨克·牛顿致力于炼金术的大约一百万字中发挥了重要作用。根据这笔拨款，纽曼博士将研究斯塔基一生中的重大事件，他与博伊尔的关系，对牛顿的影响，以及他的思想的范围--特别是它们与他那个时代的自然哲学和化学的相关性。这项研究将需要仔细检查只有英国图书馆才有的手稿，并将导致对这位美国科学史和科学革命史上这位开创性人物的首次全面治疗。

"I can see so far because I have stood on the shoulders of giants." Attributed to Isaac Newton though it probably originated in the Middle Ages, this statement has almost become a cliche in science. While not denigrating the role of genius in the advance of science, it is certainly true that science is a collective activity in which many persons contribute, some more, some less. It is important to understand the social organization of science and how scientists interact, drawing on and reacting to each others ideas. Dr. Newman, in his study of George Starkey, will be examining an especially interesting case of the interaction of scientists because Starkey, an American-educated alchemist, contributed to the advance of the Scientific Revolution. For, though we now consider alchemy a "pseudo- science" like astrology, alchemy in fact played an enormously important role in the development of Isaac Newton's thought and in the development of the new science of chemistry coming out of the work of Robert Boyle. Starkey, significantly, influenced Newton through his writings and actually worked with Boyle. In short, Starkey, born in the American colonies, was one of the "giants" on whose shoulders both Newton and Boyle stood. George Starkey (1627-65) was born in Bermuda, at the time part of the "American Colonies," and was educated at Harvard between 1643-6. He learned alchemy there under the instruction of John Winthrop the Younger. In 1650, he moved to London where he joined Hartlib's "Invisible College," an informal gathering in which those who expressed interest in scientific matters could exchange ideas. He performed extensive experiments for Robert Boyle. One of Dr. Newman's hypotheses which he will set out to prove in this research is that Starkey was actually the pseudonymous writer "Eirenaeus Philalethes" whose alchemical works flooded Europe in the late 17th century. Isaac Newton was an avid collector of Philalethan manuscripts and it now appears that his corpuscular "nutshell theory of matter" may owe more to Starkey than to any other author. Starkey's historical importance was that he was the first American scientist of great repute in Europe, and Starkey's works played a major role in the approximately one million words that Isaac Newton devoted to alchemy. Dr. Newman, under this grant will examine the major events of Starkey's life, his relationship to Boyle and influence on Newton, and the scope of his ideas -- especially their relevance to the natural philosophy and chemistry of his time. This research will entail close examination of manuscripts available only in British libraries and will lead to the first full-scale treatment of this seminal figure in the history of American science and the Scientific Revolution.