Interprétation chymique de la création et origine corpusculaire de la vie chez Athanasius Kircher

What is it about?

The famous Jesuit father Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680) tried to interpret the Creation of the world and to explain the origin of life in the last book of his geocosmic encyclopedia, Mundus subterraneus (Amsterdam, 1664–1665). His interpretation largely depended on the ‘concept of seeds’ which was derived from the tradition of Renaissance ‘chymical’ (chemical and alchemical) philosophy. The impact of Paracelsianism on his vision of the world is also undeniable. Through this undertaking, Kircher namely developed a corpuscular theory for the spontaneous generation of living beings. The present study examines this theory and its relationship with Kircher's chymical interpretation of the Creation in order to place it in its own intellectual and historical context and will uncover one of its most important sources. 1. Introduction 2. Concept de semence et interprétation chymique de la Genèse 2.1. Matière chaotique, panspermie et semence universelle 2.2. Les trois principes et l’influence du paracelsisme 2.3. Sel de la Nature, feu éthéré et ‘to theion’ 2.4. La vertu plastique 3. Le problème de la génération spontanée 3.1. La ‘semence séparée’ du corps des vivants 3.2. L’âme matérielle et les corpuscules de la vie 3.3. La génération spontanée est-elle vraiment spontanée? 4. Bref coup d’œil sur la source de Kircher

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