An historical example of an analogy used by a scientist:
"Bodies of very differing Natures, being put together, like the Wheels, and other peices [sic] of a Watch, and by their connection acquiring a new Texture, and so new Qualities, may, without having recourse to a substantial Form, compose such a new Concrete, as may as well deserve to have a substantial Form attributed to it, by virtue of that new Disposition of its parts, as other Bodies that are said to be endow'd therewith"…"
Robert Boyle
"we can little better give an account of the phaenomena [sic] of many bodies, by knowing what ingredients composed them, than we can explain the operations of a watch, by knowing how many, and of what metals the balance, the wheels, the chain, and other parts are made of"
Robert Boyle
Quoted in: Marina Paola Banchetti-Robino (2020) The Chemical Philosophy of Robert Boyle. Mechanicism, Chymical Atoms, and Emergence
[Please be aware that a word may have different nuances, or even a different meaning, according to context.]« Back to Index
