La filosofia di Samuel Hartlib tra eredità alchemiche e forme di sperimantalismo

The essay revolves around the scientific interests of the philosopher Samuel Hartlib (1600-1662), a thinker of vital importance to the English culture of his time. Not so known to the Italian audience, he represents the typical figure of his time, the intelligencer, characterized by extreme heterogeneity of interests, activities and by his preference for functions of mediation that aim to protect and organize communications between experts and scholars, exceeding national, ideological and, at least partially, confessional frontiers. The proposed study is supposed to highlight the spasmodic research conducted by Hartlib until the last years of his life in order to find chemical experiments and discoveries provided with practical value that can be able to improve the quality of life. Indeed his involvement in the fields of chemistry, medicine, agriculture and technology was deeply motivated and animated by desire to achieve and enhance knowledge which would be able to improve human life conditions providing one with wealth, health and psychophysical well-being