Paracelsus chemical experimentation

Paracelsus fasted from time to time and gave away his clothes and what money he had. He even abstained for a time from chemical experimentation, which he had practiced for most of his life and instead spent his time in meditation, in preaching, and in helping the poor. 

The fundamental principle of toxicology is the concept that the sixteenth century physician Paracelsus articulated in the 1500s sola dosis facit venenum or the dose makes the poison . The modem version of this observation is the dose-response relationship, which is experimentally and theoretically supported through pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic experimentation. Pharmacokinetics is concerned with the study of the time course of the disposition of drugs, specifically absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination, often referred to as ADME. In non-technical terms it can be thought of as what the body does to the chemical. An understanding of the pharmacokinetic (in the case of dmgs) or toxicokinetic (all chemicals) profile is critical to estimate the... 

Greco-Arabic classics, insisted on the value of experimentation (including the use of animal tests), and developed the idea that minerals and chemicals could have medicinal applications (iatrochemistry). His use of mercury preparations in the treatment of syphilis led to accusations of poisoning, to which Paracelsus replied by writing the Third Defense. It contains the following important statement ... 

In terms of the theory of elements, Paracelsus s contribution was not his work, although he did write about how the three principles made up most of terrestrial matter, but his role in the redirection of alchemy. He de-emphasized the concept of transmutation (although it is likely he believed it possible) and focused on practical aspects of the study of matter, particularly iatrochemistry. He also encouraged the investigation of materials through experiments. While this should not be confused with modern experimentalism, since Paracelsus included spiritualism and occult theory in his system of investigation, it was far more systematic than most alchemy tended to be. He also based his work on a conception of pure compounds, and that concept, in turn, led to work on purification and qualitative control of chemical research and production. 

For Boyle, then, Aristotelian elements and Paracelsian principles were out. What replaced them was a particulate view of matter in which all the tiny bits obeyed physical laws determined and sustained by God. For the most part, the chemical philosophy of Paracelsus had been ushered out the door. But what about alchemy Did Boyle s experimental chemistry erase the alchemical tradition as well Recently the historian of science Lawrence Principe has argued that The Sceptical Chemist, while clearly condemning Paracelsian chemists, nevertheless contained nothing that would justify viewing the book as anti-alchemical. In fact, Boyle himself, Principe notes, is an excellent example of the continuity of alchemical and chemical traditions during the age of the Scientific Revolution. Even his view of matter as made up of tiny corpuscles was not... 

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