Document Type : Scientific-research
Author
Associate Professor at Institute for the History of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
This study analyzes the principal features of alchemical theory in general, with a particular focus on Jābir Ibn Ḥayyān’s contributions. It explores the Aristotelian, Stoic, and Neoplatonic foundations of his thought, culminating in the so-called “Theory of Balances”—a framework that seeks to reduce all natural phenomena and scientific knowledge, including cosmology, physics, and alchemy, to laws of quantity and measurement. In the Middle Ages, this theory served as a foundation for establishing a quantitative system of natural science. Jābir translated the four degrees of intensity of the elementary qualities—borrowed from Greek medicine—into characteristic numerical series. This study examines the connections between these speculations and Plato’s Timaeus, as well as Pythagorean arithmology, with particular attention to the recurring significance of the number seventeen in Jābir’s thought.
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Main Subjects
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