摘要
波义耳在《怀疑派化学家》(1661年)一书中并没有象人们通常所说的那样给化学元素下了科学的定义,而是给出了当时人们所理解的传统元素定义。他认为最好完全取消元素这个概念而代之以微粒哲学。本文认为,近代化学元素概念来源于唯物主义经验论对十八世纪化学家的影响和化学家特别是矿物化学家、冶金化学家和气体化学家的实践活动。
What Robert Boyle (1627-1691) gave in his Sceptical Chymist (1661) is not, as is commonly said, a modern definition of a chemical element, but a traditional definition of a chemical element. He argued that it would be best to abandon the concept of element altogether for a corpuscular philosophy. This paper deems that the modern conception of a chemical element originates from the influence of materialistic empiricism on 18th century chemists and the practice of chemists, especially metallurgical, minerological and pneumatic chemists.
出处
《自然科学史研究》
CSCD
1989年第3期240-247,共8页
Studies in The History of Natural Sciences
