ERIC Number: EJ924982
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006-Mar
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0926-7220
EISSN: N/A
Axioms, Essences, and Mostly Clean Hands: Preparing to Teach Chemistry with Libavius and Aristotle
Moran, Bruce T.
Science & Education, v15 n2-4 p173-187 Mar 2006
Andreas Libavius' (c. 1555-1616) three part collection of letters, the "Rerum chymicarum epistolica forma...liber" (1595-1599) is a particularly important text in fashioning the subject of chemistry as a demonstrative science and as a didactic discipline. Where Libavius' "Alchemia", which some have claimed to be the first textbook of chemistry, had mostly a humanist agenda, the "Rerum chymicarum...liber" more directly sought to wrest the subject of "chemistry" away from Paracelsian adepts, and established the methodological basis for a specific form of knowledge suitable to the university. Making use of Aristotle's "Posterior analytics" Libavius created a "floor-plan" for chemistry that integrated practical experience with natural philosophy, and could thus, he claimed, penetrate more deeply into the structure of nature than other academic disciplines.
Descriptors: Curriculum Development, Chemistry, Literature Reviews, Textbooks, Universities, Science Education, Scientific Principles, Teaching Methods, Science Teachers
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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Authoring Institution: N/A
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