Natural philosophy, 41 Greek

As this lad grew older, he studied Latin, Greek, mathematics, and more natural philosophy. But his hobby of meteorology fascinated him most of all. When he was fifteen he left Eaglesfield for the village of Kendal to teach in the school... 

Democritus (460 -370 BC) was a Greek philosopher who was a proponent of the idea that matter is composed of indivisible particles called atoms (from the Greek word atomos, which means not able to be cut ). Democritus s ideas, however, did not prevail. Aristotle (384-322 BC) was extremely influential in matters of natural philosophy. He rejected Democritus s theory of atoms, and the idea of matter being made of atoms was set aside for more than 1,500 years. Although great scientists like Galileo and Newton beUeved in atoms, they really could not offer any support for the idea, so atomic theory continued to he dormant. 

Perhaps it was only natural that people steeped in Greek philosophy would think of trying to make gold when they encountered the rich Egyptian tradition of practical chemistry. Hadn t Aristotle said that transformations were possible Isn t that what happened when, for example, cinnabar (mercury ore) was heated Heating the red material, cinnabar, caused a pool of liquid metal to form. Didn t other chemical transformations take place when substances were heated, dissolved, melted, filtered, and crystallized ... 

Al-Razi (Rhazes, 854-925) was a Persian who studied in Baghdad. Al-Razi wrote extensively on medicine, philosophy, astronomy, and alchemy, but he was primarily a physician. Al-Razi was less mystical than his contemporary alchemists and classified chemicals by their origin. According to Al-Razi, chemicals came from either animals, plants, and minerals or were derived from other chemicals. Al-Razi wrote The Comprehensive Book, which was an enormous medical encyclopedia that synthesized medical practices of ancient Greeks, Syrians, Arabs, and Persians. Al-Razi was the first person known to describe the disease smallpox. Most of his alchemical writings have been lost, but Al-Razi believed in the atomic nature of matter. Al-Razi took a systematic approach to science and rejected the idea of divine intervention. His rational methods and descriptions were more consistent with modern science than most individuals of his time. Ali al Husayn ibn Sina (Avicenna, 980-1037) was another Persian physician whose voluminous works, including The... 

These two nations developed the most consistent and logical theories, strangely parallel indeed in their development. Scholars are not agreed upon the question as to whether the development of the philosophy of nature in the two ancient civilizations has been entirely independent. Certain it is that, up to the present time, no historical evidence has been discovered which indicates any direct contact of Hindu and Greek thought, though it is not thereby rendered impossible nor even improbable that through Persian mediation Hindu concepts may have found their... 

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