Technology and the Spirit of Alchemy

A historical perspective can throw light on problematic aspects of technology, regarded as part of the scientific approach to Nature. The master reference in this respect is chemistry, a science which still gives priority, as its mother alchemy, to the practical imitation and emulation of Nature's most secret operations. Now, the transition from the fogs of alchemy to the rigor of chemistry is often attributed to the abandonment of the religious foundations of the alchemical 'philosophy'. In this paper, we argue that, on the contrary, the complete elimination of the 'spirit of alchemy' was an unjustified loss and a premise for the misuses of technology now seriously dreaded.