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Du Chesne, Joseph

Born : 1546, Lectoure (Armagnac)

Died : 20 August 1609, Paris

  • Living reference work entry
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Book cover Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy

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Abstract

Joseph Du Chesne advocated for the fusion of chemistry and medicine, claiming that chemical medicine could offer substantial benefits to academic or Galenic medicine. This advocacy was contemporaneous with bitter controversies, ranging from the agitation of Paracelsus’s followers to the rise of Spagyrists, and the debates over the need to purify Galenism. A backdrop to all of this was the changes in and growth of alchemy. Du Chesne proposed two things: first, a conceptual framework that would serve as the theoretical basis for chemical medicine and, second, a practical, demonstrative system, characterized by distillation. In addition, Du Chesne was well aware that he faced significant challenges in proposing his chemical innovations, but he persevered in the hopes that his new medical system would gain adherents.

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Historia Moderna, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Miguel López-Pérez

Authors
  1. Miguel López-Pérez
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Philosophy a. Cultural Heritage, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia Dept. of Philosophy a. Cultural Heritage, Venezia, Italy

    Marco Sgarbi

Section Editor information

  1. Center for the History of Philosophy and Science, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Hiro Hirai

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López-Pérez, M. (2018). Du Chesne, Joseph. In: Sgarbi, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_1094-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_1094-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-02848-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02848-4

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