George Starkey and American Science in the Scientific       Revolution
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{'SignBlockName': 'Ronald J. Overmann', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
"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.
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{'Code': '1353', 'Text': 'Hist & Philosophy of SET'}
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