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I remember reading somewhere that many of the intelectuals of the time (including Newton) would likely have suffered some degree of mercury poisoning (from alch

I remember reading somewhere that many of the intelectuals of the time (including Newton) would likely have suffered some degree of mercury poisoning (from alchemy related experiments). This could well explain the paranoia and odd behaviour later in life.

varvar 6y ago
Alchemy means "the process of transmutation by which to fuse or reunite with the divine or original form" which in reality doesn't deal with concrete materials, but it is about something akin to psychological transformation. Practitioners of alchemy would uphold deceptive ideas about it, in order to protect themselves. I highly doubt that Newton was as silly and foolish as misunderstanding what alchemy is fundamentally about. However supposedly he was found to have mercury in his hair upon being found dead, which certainly discredits the occult and esoteric part of his studies. The public image of Newton is heavily shaped by the British Government, the whole thing about the Enlightement scientist that society is supposed to emulate and so on. It's quite the rabbit hole to investigate.
- JesseMReeves 6y ago
  Why is this being downvoted? These are facts. Seemingly nobody knows the psychological / spiritual ideas behind alchemy and only has comical images of long-bearded men trying to turn metal into gold in their minds? There is a whole rabbit hole to explore here: William Newman: “Newton the Alchemist”.
acqq 6y ago
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsnr.1979.0002 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsnr.1979.000... "Newton’s ‘derangement of the intellect’. New light on an old problem, P. E. Spargo and C. A. Pounds, 1979" And regarding the documented symptoms: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsnr.1979.0001 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsnr.1979.000... "Mercury poisoning: A probable cause of Isaac Newton's physical and mental ills, L.w. Johnson and M. L. Wolbarsht, 1979"

varvar 6y ago

Alchemy means "the process of transmutation by which to fuse or reunite with the divine or original form" which in reality doesn't deal with concrete materials, but it is about something akin to psychological transformation. Practitioners of alchemy would uphold deceptive ideas about it, in order to protect themselves. I highly doubt that Newton was as silly and foolish as misunderstanding what alchemy is fundamentally about. However supposedly he was found to have mercury in his hair upon being found dead, which certainly discredits the occult and esoteric part of his studies. The public image of Newton is heavily shaped by the British Government, the whole thing about the Enlightement scientist that society is supposed to emulate and so on. It's quite the rabbit hole to investigate.

JesseMReeves 6y ago
Why is this being downvoted? These are facts. Seemingly nobody knows the psychological / spiritual ideas behind alchemy and only has comical images of long-bearded men trying to turn metal into gold in their minds? There is a whole rabbit hole to explore here: William Newman: “Newton the Alchemist”.

acqq 6y ago

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsnr.1979.0002 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsnr.1979.000... "Newton’s ‘derangement of the intellect’. New light on an old problem, P. E. Spargo and C. A. Pounds, 1979" And regarding the documented symptoms: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsnr.1979.0001 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsnr.1979.000... "Mercury poisoning: A probable cause of Isaac Newton's physical and mental ills, L.w. Johnson and M. L. Wolbarsht, 1979"