HERMAN BOERHAAVE CALVINIST

Hitherto historians of science have not paid much attention to Boerhaave s religious views and their influence on his natural philosophy. They have mainly emphasised Boerhaave s mechanistic approach to investigating nature and, concerning chemistry, they have praised him for being one of the first to 

Schultens, A. (1988 (1739)). ( demische B.edevoeringvan A-lhert Schultens ter Gedachtenisse van den Gro-ten Herman Boerhaave. Uitgesproken 14 november (Schultens Jan Jacob, Trans.) 72. 

It is not new to argue that there is a relationship between Calvinism and natural philosophy. In the historiography of science we can distinguish between two main streams of historians explaining the influence of Protestantism on the rise of science in the seventeenth century. On the one hand the Weber/Merton theses gave rise to a stream of publications discussing the doctrine of predestination as a main cause of the rise of science. On the other hand we find historians who emphasise the Protestant doctrine of creation as the main reason.  

For an overview see Grell, O.P. (1992). Protestantism, Natural Philosophy, and the Scientific Revolution. In Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science, 2, p, 519-527. 

Concept of the Laws of Nature. In D. O Connor F. Oakley (Eds.), Creation. The Impact of an Idea (pp. 54 3)- New York Hooykaas, R. (1972). Keligion and the Kise of Modem Science. Edinburgh/Lon-don. 

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See G.A. Lindeboom s biography of Boerhaave, Dictionary of Scientific Biography, vol. I, 224-228 and his Herman Boerhaave The Man and his Work (London Methuen, 1968) Hdene Metzger, Newton, Stahl, Boerhaave et le doctrine chimique (Paris Albert Blanchard, 1930) Rina Knoeff, the Making of a Calvinist Chemist Herman Boerhaave, God, Fire and Truth, Amhix 48 (2001) 102-111. 

Knoeff, Rina. The Making of a Calvinist Chemist Herman Boerhaave, God, Fire and Truth. Ambix 48 (2001) 102-111. 

R. Knoeff, The making of a Calvinist chemist Herman Boerhaave, God, fire and truth , Ambix, 2001, 48, 102-111. 

Boerhaave s name still lives on in the Netherlands. In Leiden we find the Boerhaave History of Science Museum, a statue opposite the hospital, a chemist called after the famous physician, and even an abortion clinic bearing Boerhaave s name Almost every respectable town in the country has a street called after Boerhaave and in orthodox Calvinist circles the name Boerhaave stands for the only real Christian doctor the Dutch have ever known. Herman Boerhaave deserves the attention of historians and this book is an attempt to understand the driving motives of some of Boerhaave s intellectual endeavours. 

Gunst, J.W. (1934). Herman Boerhaave. Biografische Schetsen Leiden 6. Among strict Calvinists in the Netherlands the name Boerhaave stands for good Christian medicine. Moreover his name is mentioned in various church newsletters and bible diaries. 

Love, R. (1972). Some Sources of Herman Boerhaave s Concept of Fire. HwWx, (3), 157-174. Love s argument that the belief in a spiritual substance like fire was not unique is obvious when comparing Boerhaave s concept of fire to for example Jacob Boehme s divine substance saliter, which has the same qualities. However, Boerhaave s concept of fire is specifically Calvinist. 

Rina Knoeff, Herman Boerhaave (i668-iyy8). Calvinist chemist and physician. 2002, ISBN 90-6984-342-0... 

Rina Knoeff is postdoctoral research fellow in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Leiden. She is the author of Herman Boerhaave (1668-1738). Calvinist Chemist and Physician (Amsterdam Edita, 2002). She has worked on the history of medicine and chemistry in relation to (natural) philosophy, theology, and the arts. Currently, she is also involved in research on the Leiden anatomical collections. 

G. A. Lindeboom, Herman Boerhaave the Man and his Work, Methuen, London, 1968 R. Knoeff, Herman Boerhaave (1688-1738) Calvinist Chemist and Physician, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akadamie van Weten-schappen, Amsterdam, 2002. 

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