Além do Mecanicismo: Experiência, Corpo e Transformação nas filosofias de F. Bacon e R. Boyle

Luciana Zaterka

doi:10.32334/oqnfp.2025n57a1044

PDF (Português (Brasil))

Published: Dec 30, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32334/oqnfp.2025n57a1044

Keywords:

experimental philosophy, Francis Bacon, Robert Boyle, fluids, chemistry, testimony

Luciana Zaterka

Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC)

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4933-8534

Abstract

This article discusses the constitution of experimental philosophy in early modernity through the works of Francis Bacon and Robert Boyle. The analysis of their conceptions of matter and its constituent elements reveals a significant departure from the physical-mathematical paradigm. The observation of bodies in transformation, such as air, blood, spirits, and vapors, not only challenges the strictest mechanistic explanations, but also inaugurates a new temporality and a different regime of visibility in the production of knowledge. Throughout the text, it becomes clear that truth comes to be understood through practice, protocols, and the care of the observer. Finally, the article highlights the relational and collective dimensions of experimental knowledge, grounded in the articulation between testimonies, instruments, and collaborative practices.

Issue

Vol. 33 No. 57 (2025): Beyond Dualism: Configurations of the Body in Modernity

Section

Articles

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Author Biography

Luciana Zaterka, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC)

He holds a Licenciatura and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Mackenzie Presbyterian University (1991), a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from the University of São Paulo (2001), a master’s degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of São Paulo (1995), a master’s degree in Philosophy from the University of São Paulo (1998), a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of São Paulo (2003), and postdoctoral studies in the History of Science at PUC-SP (2007) and in the Philosophy of Science at UFPR (2024). She is currently an Associate Professor of Modern Philosophy and Theory of Knowledge at the Federal University of ABC, teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. She has been a professor in the Graduate Program in Philosophy at the Federal University of Paraná since 2020. She has experience in the field of Philosophy, particularly in the History of Modern Philosophy and Theory of Knowledge, focusing on the following themes: reason and experience in modernity, and 17th-century experimental philosophy, with an emphasis on the works of Francis Bacon, Baruch Spinoza, Robert Boyle, and John Locke. She also researches Nietzsche’s critique of modernity. In recent years, he has devoted himself to the Philosophy of Chemistry, particularly the topics of the biography of materials and transhumanism.

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