This thesis attempts to describe the similarities and the differences between Boyle's position and Locke's on the primary and secondary quality distinction. / It is in the Corpuscular Hypothesis that Boyle draws the distinction between primary and secondary qualities. Locke not only accepts the Corpuscular Hypothesis but also presents some arguments to support it. / Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 respectively examine the differences in the positions of Boyle and Locke on primary and secondary qualities, in their lists of primary qualities, the terminologies they employ, and the scopes of their discussions. Little attention has previously been paid to these differences. / Chapter 3 discusses the essence of the primary/secondary quality distinction. My point is that the distinction between primary and secondary qualities is really a distinction between two kinds of powers for both Boyle and Locke.

No description available.

The purpose of this study is to examine how English natural philosophers of the seventeenth century—in particular, Robert Boyle (1627-1691) considered and assessed the personal traits of skill and experience and the significance of these characteristics to the practice of seventeenth-century science. Boyle's writings reveal that skill and experience impacted various aspects of his seventeenth-century experimental natural philosophy, including the credibility assessment of tradesmen and eyewitnesses to natural phenomena, the contingencies involved in the making of experiments, and Boyle's statements about the requisite skills of experimental philosophy in contrast to other traditions. Subtopics explored include the popularization of science and Boyle's expectations concerning the future improvement of natural philosophy.

Orientador: Fátima Regina Rodrigues Évora / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Huimanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T11:47:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Cecon_Kleber_D.pdf: 1520746 bytes, checksum: 5b636b8430205a01ac329dd3d8a5814a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: O objetivo dessa tese é analisar a filosofia mecânica de Robert Boyle, visando mostrar a compatibilidade entre o seu pensamento químico e mecanicista. Apesar de não poder ser provada por experimentos alquímicos, a filosofia mecânica de Boyle é corroborada por eles e os mesmos tiveram grande importância na refutação das formas substanciais e qualidades reais da escolástica. Os experimentos alquímicos tornam-se importantes na medida em que é necessário elucidar como eles são usados na defesa do mecanicismo boyleano. Visando auxiliar a compreensão dos mesmos, foram analisados aqueles que Boyle julgava mais aptos para esse fim, assim como a tradução química para a correspondente linguagem da química contemporânea / Abstract: The goal of this thesis is to demonstrate that there is no opposition between Robert Boyle's alchemy and mechanicism. Despite the fact that Boyle's mechanical philosophy cannot be proved by alchemical experiments, it is supported theoretically by them and they had great importance in the refutation of the scholastic's substantial forms and real qualities. The alchemical experiments are important since is necessary to elucidate how they were used to defend the boylean mechanicism. In order to better comprehend these experiments, some of them, which Boyle judged to be the most suitable for the task, were selected and chemically translated into modern chemical language / Doutorado / Filosofia / Doutor em Filosofia