PubMed · 6761680
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H M Koelbing. 1982-12-21. [Paracelsus].. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6761680/
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The renewed success of ancient atomism in the seventeenth century has baffled historians not only because of the lack of empirical evidence in its favor but also because of the exotic heterogeneity of the models that were proposed under its name. This essay argues that one of the more intriguing reasons for the motley appearance of early modern atomism is that Democritus, with whose name this doctrine was most commonly associated, was a figure of similar incoherence. There existed in fact no fewer than four quite different Democriti of Abdera and as many literary traditions: the atomist, the "laughing philosopher," the moralizing anatomist, and the alchemist. Around the year 1600 the doctrines of these literary figures, three of whom had no tangible connection with atomism, began to merge into further hybrid personae, some of whom possessed notable scientific potential. This essay offers the story of how these Democriti contributed to the rise of incompatible "atomisms."
The evolution of the Doctrine of Signatures is presented, with reference to a physical as well as mental/spiritual mode of relating nature's medicinal substances to the human symptoms. Symbolism, intuition, biological observation, and the study of the medicinal properties serve as guides in the Doctrine of Signatures; modern science offers additional dimensions by relating physiological processes to physiology of disease.
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