From Paracelsus to Newton – Magic and the Making of Modern Science

The alchemist and physician known as Paracelsus (1493-1541) appears to have dwelt in a completely different intellectual world from Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727). Newton’s work lies in the lofty era of the Enlightenment and the modern world, while that of the enigmatic Paracelsus conjures up the superstitious lore of the Dark Ages. The rise of science and the decline of magic unfolded over many generations, and as this fascinating book shows, there existed remarkable elements of continuity between the worldviews of the early sixteenth and late seventeenth centuries.