O conhecimento alquímico: aspectos introvertidos e extrovertidos

Abstract

I start this abstract with a question: what is alchemy? This question, as simple as it may seem, does not have an easy answer. The reason for this complication comes from the erasure that this area of knowledge has suffered through the interpretation of modern science. With this work, we intend to elucidate what alchemy is, from a historical, philosophical and psychological perspective; We aim to establish alchemy as a possible knowledge in the contemporary world. From authors such as Ana GoldFarb, Françoise Bonardel, Marie Louise Von Franz, Carl G. Jung and Gaston Bachelard, we will contextualize alchemy as a historical practice, discern its foundations through the analysis of its different types of texts and establish its relevance based on its symbolic and psychological aspects. Therefore, this work is dedicated to exploring a perspective on alchemy that understands it as possible and necessary knowledge for individuals, as it is responsible for reflecting on aspects of human existence that are not within the scope of science, such as symbolic and subjective aspects. of being, making it complementary knowledge to scientific knowledge; and it is up to us, scholars of the human sciences, to organize and synthesize this knowledge so that it is possible to discern what alchemy is.