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'''Alkimia''' adalah [[protosains]] yang menggabungkan unsur-unsur [[kimia]], [[fisika]], [[astrologi]], [[seni]], [[semiotika]], [[metalurgi]], [[kedokteran]], [[mistisisme]], dan [[agama]]. Dua tujuan yang saling berkaitan yang diupayakan oleh banyak ahli alkimia adalah [[batu filosof]], sebuah zat mitos yang memungkinkan terjadinya [[transmutasi]] logam biasa menjadi [[emas]]; dan [[panacea universal]], obat yang dapat menyembuhkan segala penyakit dan memperpanjang usia. Alkimia dapat dipandang sebagai cikal-bakal ilmu [[kimia]] modern sebelum dirumuskannya [[metode ilmiah]].
Kata ''alkimia'' berasal dari [[Bahasa Arab]] ''al-kimiya'' atau ''al-khimiya'' (الكيمياء atau الخيمياء), yang mungkin dibentuk dari partikel ''al-'' dan kata [[(Bahasa) Yunani]] ''khumeia'' (χυμεία) yang berarti "mencetak bersama", "menuangkan bersama", "mengelasmelebur", "aloy", dan lain-lain (dari ''khumatos'', "yang dituangkan, batang logam"). Etimologi lain mengaitkan kata ini dengan kata "Al Kemi", yang berarti "Seni Mesir", karena bangsa Mesir Kuno menyebut negerinya "Kemi" dan dipandang sebagai penyihir sakti di seluruh dunia kuno.
==Tinjauan umum==
AnggapanPada umumumumnya, tentangorang menganggap ahli alkimia adalah bahwa mereka adalahsebagai ahli [[pseudosains]] yang berupaya mengubah [[timah]] menjadi [[emas]], meyakini bahwa semua materi tersusun atas [[empat unsur]] tanah, udara, api, dan air, dan mengulik pingiran [[mistisisme]] dan [[Sihir]]. Dari sudut pandang masa kini, upaya dan keyakinan mereka dianggap memiliki keabsahan terbatas, tetapi kalau mau objektif, kita harus menilai mereka dalam konteks zaman mereka. Mereka mencoba menjelajahi dan menyelidiki alam sebelum tersedianya sebagian besar alat dan praktik ilmiah dasar, relyingdan insteadalih-alih onbergantung [[rulepada of thumb|rules of thumb]]pegalaman, tradisi, pengamatan dasar, dan mistisisme untuk mengisi lobang-lobang ini.
Untuk memahami para ahli alkimia, itcobalah ismerenungkan helpfulbetapa toajaibnya considerperubahan howsuatu wonderfullyzat magicalmenjadi thezat conversion of one substance into anotherlain, which had formed theyang basismenjadi ofdasar [[metallurgymetalurgi]] sincesejak itsdimulainya inceptionilmu atini thepada endakhir of thezaman [[Neolitikum]], wouldbagi seemkebudayaan in a culture with no formalyang understandingtidak ofmemahami [[fisika]] atau [[kimia]] secara formal. Bagi ahli alkimia, theretak wasada noalasan compellingkuat reasonuntuk tomemisahkan separatedimensi the chemicalkimiawi (material) dimensiondengan fromdimensi thepenafsiran, interpretiveperlambangan, symbolicatau or philosophical onefilsafat. Pada Inmasa thoseitu, timesfisika ayang physicstak devoidmemiliki ofwawasan metaphysicalmetafisika insightdianggap wouldtak havelengkap beenseperti ashalnya partialmetafisika andyang incompletetak asmemiliki aperwujudan metaphysics devoid of physical manifestationfisik. So theJadi, [[alchemicallambang symbolalkimia|lambang]]s anddan processesproses oftenalkimia hadbiasanya bothmemiliki anbaik innermakna meaningbatiniah referringyang tomerujuk thepada perkembangan spiritual developmentpraktisinya, ofmaupun the practitioner as well as amakna material meaning connectedyang toberkaitan physicaldengan transformationperubahan offisik matterzat.
[[Transmutasi]] logam biasa menjadi emas melambangkan upaya menuju kesempurnaan atau ketinggian tertinggi eksistensi. Ahli alkimia meyakini bahwa seluruh alam semesta sedang bergerak menuju keadaan sempurna; dan emas, karena tak pernah rusak, dianggap zat yang paling sempurna. Dengan mencoba mengubah logam biasa menjadi emas, mereka sebenarnya mencoba membantu alam semesta. Maka, cukup logis jika mereka berpikir bahwa dengan memahami rahasia ketakberubahan emas, mereka akan menemukan kunci untuk menangkal penyakit dan pembusukan organik; demikianlah pertautan antara tema-tema kimiawi, spiritual, dan [[astrologi]] menjadi ciri-ciri alkimia zaman pertengahan.
[[Transmutasi]] logam biasa menjadi emas symbolized an endeavour toward perfection or the highest heights of actual existence. The alchemists believed that the whole universe was tending towards a state of perfection; and gold, due to its immunity to decay, was considered to be the most perfect of substances. By attempting to transmute base metals into gold, they were, in effect, trying to give the universe a helping hand. It was also logical to think that understanding the secret of gold's immutability might provide the key to ward off disease and organic decay; hence the intertwining of chemical, spiritual and [[astrology|astrological]] themes that was characteristic of medieval alchemy.
Maka, penafsiran naif sebagian ahli alkimia, atau harapan palsu yang dipromosikan sebagian yang lain, jangan sampai mengurangi nilai upaya para praktisi lain yang lebih tulus. Selain itu, bidang alkimia banyak berubah sepanjang zaman, dimulai sebagai cabang metalurgis/obat agama, menjadi dewasa menjadi bidang studi yang kaya dan sah, berdevolusi menjadi mistisisme dan penipuan blak-blakan, dan akhirnya memberikan sebagian [[pengetahuan empiris]] dasar untuk bidang kimia dan [[obat-obatan]] modern.
Thus, the naïve interpretations of some alchemists, or the fraudulent hopes fostered by others should not diminish the undertakings of the more sincere practitioners. Further, the field of alchemy evolved greatly over time, beginning as a metallurgical/medicinal arm of religion, maturing into a rich field of study in its own right, devolving into mysticism and outright charlatanism, and in the end providing some of the fundamental [[empirical knowledge]] of the fields of chemistry and modern [[medicine]].
Up to theHingga [[18thabad centuryke-18]], alchemyalkimia wasdianggap consideredsebagai seriousilmu scienceserius indi EuropeEropa; for instancecontohnya, [[Isaac Newton]] devotedmengabdikan abanyak greatwaktu dealuntuk ofSeni time to the Art (see [[Isaac Newton's occult studies]])ini. OtherAhli eminentalkimia alchemiststerkemuka oflainnya thedi Westerndunia worldBarat areadalah [[Roger Bacon]], SaintSanto [[Thomas Aquinas]], [[Tycho Brahe]], [[Thomas Browne]], anddan [[Parmigianino]]. ThePenurunan declinealkimia ofdimulai alchemy began in thepada [[18thabad centuryke-18]] withdengan thelahirnya birth ofkimia modern chemistry, whichyang providedmemberikan akerangka morekerja preciseyang andlebih reliableteliti frameworkdan forandal matteruntuk transmutationstransmutasi andzat medicinedan obat-obatan, within a new granddalam designdesain ofbaru thealam universesemesta basedyang onberdasarkan rationalmaterialisme materialismrasional.
TheIdealisme oldtransmutasi matterzat transmutationdalam idealalkimia ofmenjadi alchemyterkenal enjoyedlagi a moment in the sun in thepada [[20thabad centuryke-20]] whenketika physicistspara werefisikawan ablemampu tomengubah convertatom leadtimah atomsmenjadi intoatom goldemas atomsmelalui via areaksi [[nuclearnuklir]] reaction. HoweverNamun, theatom newemas goldbaru atomsini, beingkarena unstablemerupakan [[isotopesisotop]], lastedyang forlabil, underhanya fivebertahan secondslima beforedetik theylalu broke apartterurai. Lebih More recentlybelakangan, reportslaporan ofmengenai table-toptransmutasi elementunsur transmutationatas-tabel — by meansdengan ofcara [[electrolysiselektrolisis]] oratau [[sonickavitasi cavitationsuara]] — weremenjadi thepusat pivot of thekontroversi [[fusi dingin]] (''cold fusion'') controversypada oftahun 1989. NoneTak ofsatu thosepun claims couldklaim-klaim beini reliablydapat duplicateddiduplikasi. Dalam Inkedua eitherkasus caseini, thekondisi requiredyang conditionsdiperlukan wereberada welljauh beyonddi theluar reachjangkauan ofpara theahli oldalkimia alchemistskuno.
AlchemicalPerlambangan symbolismalkimia hassesekali beendigunakan occasionally used in thepada [[20thabad centuryke-20]] byoleh [[psychologistpsikologi|psikolog]]s anddan philosophersfilosof. [[Carl Jung]] reexaminedmemeriksa alchemicalkembali symbolismperlambangan anddan theoryteori andalkimia begandan tomulai showmenunjukkan themakna innerbatin meaningdalam ofpekerjaan alchemicalalkimia worksebagai asjalan a [[spirituality|spiritual]] path. AlchemicalFilsafat, philosophylambang, symbolsdan andmetode methodsalkimia havemenikmati enjoyedkelahiran somethingkembali ofdalam a renaissance inkonteks [[post-modernposmodernisme|posmodern]] contexts, suchseperti as thegerakan [[New Age]] movement. EvenBahkan somesebagian physicistsfisikawan havebermain-main playeddengan withgagasan alchemicalalkimia ideasdalam in books suchbuku-buku asseperti ''[[The Tao of Physics]]'' anddan ''[[The Dancing Wu Li Masters]]''.
''Sejarah'' alkimia menjadi bidang akademis yang giat. Seraya bahasa ahli alkimia yang kabur — dan tentunya ''hermetis'' — perlahan-lahan dapat "dipecahkan sandinya", para ahli sejarah menjadi semakin menyadari hubungan intelektual antara alkimia dengan segi-segi lain sejarah budaya Barat, seperti [[Rosicrucianism|masyarakat Rosicrucian]] dan masyarakat mistis lainnya, [[sihir]], dan tentu saja evolusi [[sains]] dan [[filsafat]].
''Sejarah'' alkmia has become a vigorous academic field. As the obscure — ''hermetic'', of course — language of the alchemists is gradually being "deciphered", historians are becoming more aware of the intellectual connections between that discipline and other facets of Western cultural history, such as the [[Rosicrucianism|Rosicrucian society]] and other mystic societies, [[witchcraft]], and of course the evolution of [[science]] and [[philosophy]].
==Sejarah==
In this period there appeared some deviations from the [[Augustinian]] principles of earlier Christian thinkers. [[Anselm of Canterbury|Saint Anselm]] ([[1033]]–[[1109]]) was an Augustinian who believed faith must precede rationalism, as Augustine and most theologians prior to Anselm had believed, but Anselm put forth the opinion that faith and rationalism were compatible and encouraged rationalism in a Christian context. His views set the stage for the philosophical explosion to occur. [[Saint Abelard]] followed Anselm's work, laying the foundation for acceptance of Aristotelian thought before the first works of Aristotle reached the West. His major influence on alchemy was his belief that Platonic universals did not have a separate existence outside of man's [[consciousness]]. Abelard also systematized the analysis of philosophical contradictions. (Hollister, p. 287-8)
[[Robert Grosseteste]] ([[1170]]–[[1253]]) adalah perintis teori ilmiah yang kemudian digunakan dan dipoles oleh para ahli kimia. Ia mengambil metode analisis Abelard dan menambahkan penggunaan pengamatan, eksperimentasi, dan penyimpulan dalam membuat evaluasi ilmiah. Grosseteste juga banyak menjembatani pemikiran Platonis dan Aristotelian. (Hollister hh. 294-5)
[[Robert Grosseteste]] ([[1170]]–[[1253]]) was a pioneer of the scientific theory that would later be used and refined by the alchemists. he took
Abelard's methods of analysis and added the use of observations, experimentation, and conclusions in making scientific evaluations. Grosseteste also did much work to bridge Platonic and Aristotelian thinking. (Hollister pp. 294-5)
[[Albertus Magnus]] ([[1193]]–[[1280]]) anddan [[Thomas Aquinas]] ([[1225]]–[[1274]]) were both [[Dominican]]s who studied Aristotle and worked at reconciling the differences between philosophy and Christianity. Aquinas also did a great deal of work in developing the [[scientific method]]. He even went as far as claiming that universals could be discovered only through [[logical reasoning]]: this ran contrary to the commonly held Platonic belief that universals were found through [[divine illumination]] alone. Magnus and Aquinas were among the first to take up the examination of alchemical theory, and could be considered to be alchemists themselves, except that these two did little in the way of [[experimentation]]. One major contribution of Aquinas was the belief that since [[reason]] could not run in opposition to God, reason must be compatible with [[theology]]. (Hollister p. 290-4, 355)
The first true alchemist in Eropa Zaman Pertengahan adalah [[Roger Bacon]]. His work did as much for alchemy as [[Robert Boyle]]'s was to do for [[chemistry]] and [[Galileo Galilei]] untuk [[astronomi]] dan [[fisika]]. Bacon ([[1214]]–[[1294]]) adalah [[Franciscan]] Oxford yang mengulik [[optik]] dan [[linguistik|bahasa]] selain alkimia. The Franciscan ideals of taking on the world rather than rejecting the world led to his conviction that experimentation was more important than reasoning: "Of the three ways in which men think that they acquire [[knowledge]] of things: authority, [[reason|reasoning]], and [[experience]]; only the last is effective and able to bring peace to the intellect." (Bacon p. 367) "[[Experimental Science]] controls the conclusions of all other sciences. It reveals truths which reasoning from [[law (principle)|general principles]] would never have discovered." (Hollister p. 294-5) Roger Bacon has also been attributed with originating the search for the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life: "That medicine which will remove all impurities and corruptibilities from the lesser metals will also, in the opinion of the wise, take off so much of the corruptibility of the body that human life may be prolonged for many centuries." The idea of [[immortality]] was replaced with the notion of [[longevity|long life]]; after all, man's time on Earth was simply to wait and prepare for immortality in the world of God. Immortality on Earth did not mesh with Christian theology. (Edwards p. 37-8)
So by the end of the thirteenth century, alchemy had developed into a fairly structured system of belief. Most importantly, the alchemists were all true
Christians. They believed in the macrocosm-microcosm theories of Hermes, that is to say, they believed that processes that affect minerals and other substances could have an effect on the human body (e.g., if one could learn the secret of purifying gold, one could use the technique to purify the [[soul|human soul]].) These men believed the philosophers' stone was a substance that was capable of purifying base metals (and thereby [[transmutation|transmuting]] them to gold) as well as purifying the soul. They believed in the four elements and the four qualities as described above,
the secret of purifying gold, one could use the technique to purify the [[soul|human soul]].) These men believed the philosophers' stone was a substance that was capable of purifying base metals (and thereby [[transmutation|transmuting]] them to gold) as well as purifying the soul. They believed in the four elements and the four qualities as described above,
and they had a strong tradition of cloaking their written ideas in a labyrinth of coded [[jargon]] set with traps to mislead the uninitiated. Finally, the alchemists practiced their art: they actively experimented with chemicals and made [[observation]]s and [[theory|theories]] about how the universe operated. Their entire philosophy revolved around their belief that man's soul was divided within himself after the fall of Adam. By purifying the two parts of man's soul, man could be reunited with God. (Burckhardt p. 149)
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