The subject touched on in this lecture was Alchemy. Alchemy is known to be a subject of science. Alchemy is common understood as the transmutation of base metals into gold, the investigation to the secrets of immortality & achieving ultimate wisdom & knowledge.
The study of alchemy may have contributed to the discovery of modern pharmaceuticals & chemicals used industries nowadays such as inks, cosmetics, liquors etc. Alchemy may have been an attempt for both science & faith to understand & correspond with one another.
Gold for example stands for purity. Alchemists were attempting to change something like base metals, which were impure, into gold. A good comparison to what alchemists were trying to accomplish can be related to Plato’s philosophy. Plato talked about letting go of one’s body to be with the gods. In short, enlightenment was thought to be achieved through the gaining of knowledge.
Alchemy was also thought to be the principle of equivalent exchange; meaning that in order to attain something, something of equal value had to be sacrificed. Commonly in life, we understand this principle as fair trade.
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