important discovery, if he cognizes and examine ideas and concepts of other scientists from as wide as possible spectrum of research. Solutions of contradictions
that could appear in a system are not possible within this system, but rather by a
courageous step out the system, the formation of the view from outside and its
possible extension. A scientific lifetime exercise focused to one stuff, and studying
only the papers about this stuff, does not lead to new conceptual and intellectual
adventures.
The project of Alexander the Great (356–323 B.C.), who has been well educated under Aristotle’s supervision, to establish a city and civilization on principles
of a synthesis of various views and thinking was a longstanding idea. Museum
(Motreiom—temple of Muses), the central Alexandrian educational institution,
was the melting pot where thinkers from all world of that time, Jewish, Greeks,
Egyptians, Babylonians, as well as thinkers from the Far East met together. Greek
philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, and the advanced Egyptian metallurgy and the
craft of preparation of colours and jewels were somehow mixed with the Persian
mysticism. Protochemistry, which in its base had an experiment as a new philosophical method, has appeared as a new discipline [1, 2]. This new approach to the
knowledge was epistemologically deductive: the theory of current philosophical
systems, which originate from thinking rather than from hard experience should be
submitted to test. Experiment is expected to be the method to demonstrate the
extent of Aristotelian and Platonian constructions, and to support them or to reject
them. Aristotle’s statement about the intention of all things to occupy their natural
position has been generalized in way that all substances and objects tend to obtain
their perfect form. Perfect substance, brilliant and resistant—the philosophical gold
that is “golder” than the ordinary gold, and which is useful for the perfection of all
other substances, could probably be prepared by a patient repetition of experiments.
Manipulation with materials, which led to the development of the future laboratory
equipment, was at that time imagined to have some connection with the cosmic
principles. Platonian and neoplatonian construction about spirits captured in the
body, which should be liberated, was a philosophical base of the establishment and
deliberation of two categories: the shapeless matter, and the corresponding feature
of matter. Substances appear as noticeable only when they are unified with the
features! Accordingly, the properties became the category independent on the
substance. The role of experiment is to move properties from one object to another.
In laboratory, the Master manipulates only with features: metals or alloys that
possesses an extent of some feature could this extent transmit to other substances
for their perfection. The philosophical gold is in principle a sort of “supragold”, and
some fraction of its pool of goldness could be transferred to the shapeless matter to
make it excellent. In addition, the philosophical gold is timeless, and this symbolism we can recognize as a gold background in icons of the Eastern Christianity:
Christ and Madonna are immersed in gold!
Features are spiritual, the pneumas, and they could be released from the substance by sublimation, and added to another substance. All the process is observable: for instance, if the feature produced by evaporation of mercury is transferred
to copper, we can observe change of its colour. Thus, the effect is recognizable by
32
3 Synthesis of Philosophy and Technology
that could appear in a system are not possible within this system, but rather by a
courageous step out the system, the formation of the view from outside and its
possible extension. A scientific lifetime exercise focused to one stuff, and studying
only the papers about this stuff, does not lead to new conceptual and intellectual
adventures.
The project of Alexander the Great (356–323 B.C.), who has been well educated under Aristotle’s supervision, to establish a city and civilization on principles
of a synthesis of various views and thinking was a longstanding idea. Museum
(Motreiom—temple of Muses), the central Alexandrian educational institution,
was the melting pot where thinkers from all world of that time, Jewish, Greeks,
Egyptians, Babylonians, as well as thinkers from the Far East met together. Greek
philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, and the advanced Egyptian metallurgy and the
craft of preparation of colours and jewels were somehow mixed with the Persian
mysticism. Protochemistry, which in its base had an experiment as a new philosophical method, has appeared as a new discipline [1, 2]. This new approach to the
knowledge was epistemologically deductive: the theory of current philosophical
systems, which originate from thinking rather than from hard experience should be
submitted to test. Experiment is expected to be the method to demonstrate the
extent of Aristotelian and Platonian constructions, and to support them or to reject
them. Aristotle’s statement about the intention of all things to occupy their natural
position has been generalized in way that all substances and objects tend to obtain
their perfect form. Perfect substance, brilliant and resistant—the philosophical gold
that is “golder” than the ordinary gold, and which is useful for the perfection of all
other substances, could probably be prepared by a patient repetition of experiments.
Manipulation with materials, which led to the development of the future laboratory
equipment, was at that time imagined to have some connection with the cosmic
principles. Platonian and neoplatonian construction about spirits captured in the
body, which should be liberated, was a philosophical base of the establishment and
deliberation of two categories: the shapeless matter, and the corresponding feature
of matter. Substances appear as noticeable only when they are unified with the
features! Accordingly, the properties became the category independent on the
substance. The role of experiment is to move properties from one object to another.
In laboratory, the Master manipulates only with features: metals or alloys that
possesses an extent of some feature could this extent transmit to other substances
for their perfection. The philosophical gold is in principle a sort of “supragold”, and
some fraction of its pool of goldness could be transferred to the shapeless matter to
make it excellent. In addition, the philosophical gold is timeless, and this symbolism we can recognize as a gold background in icons of the Eastern Christianity:
Christ and Madonna are immersed in gold!
Features are spiritual, the pneumas, and they could be released from the substance by sublimation, and added to another substance. All the process is observable: for instance, if the feature produced by evaporation of mercury is transferred
to copper, we can observe change of its colour. Thus, the effect is recognizable by
32
3 Synthesis of Philosophy and Technology