Article
ID: CBB188406139

Senses and Utility in the New Chemistry (2023)

unapi
Professions and professionalization Expertise Discipline formation Scholarly publishing Senses and sensation; perception Chemistry 18th century France

The New Chemistry, as practised by its early proponents in late eighteenth-century France, is often associated with quantification and a move away from sensorial perceptions. In this paper, I argue that the sensory, far from being discarded by the practitioners of the New Chemistry, thrived in one of their major productions: the Annales de Chimie. Viewing the New Chemistry through its relation to the sensory highlights the diversity of chemical applications and offers a new way of examining the connection of chemistry to state and industrial actors. Chemists utilised a precise vocabulary which allowed them to productively interact on the subject of the senses. Sensorial impressions were used for distinct purposes, including the identification of substances, and to track the progress of ongoing chemical transformations. Most important, the senses were frequently tied to the purpose of chemical work. As chemists put their expertise in support of the state, industry, medicine, and commerce, they aimed to improve the sensory qualities of their objects of study, be they dairy products or fabric dyes. Remaining attuned to the senses, therefore, was an essential prerequisite of the New Chemistry's claim to utility.

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Authors & Contributors
Andrews, Jonathan
Daire, Marie-Yvane
Davoust, Emmanuel
Dupré, Sven
Hentschel, Klaus
Herschkorn-Barnu, Paule
Journals
Ambix: Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry
Annals of Science: The History of Science and Technology
Archives Internationales d'Histoire des Sciences
Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte
Bulletin of the History of Archaeology
Centaurus: International Magazine of the History of Mathematics, Science, and Technology
Publishers
University of California Press
University of Pittsburgh Press
Springer International Publishing
Concepts
Professions and professionalization
Discipline formation
Chemistry
Expertise
Scientific communities; interprofessional relations
Correspondence and corresponding
People
Bernoulli, Johann
Cullen, William
d'Alembert, Jean Le Rond
Grandjean de Fouchy, Jean-Paul
Monro, John
Casares Rodríguez, Antonio
Time Periods
18th century
19th century
17th century
20th century, late
20th century
21st century
Places
France
Paris (France)
Spain
England
Great Britain
Denmark
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